Petition to remove AG Eric Holder from office

 
Sign and share everywhere...enough is enough!
 
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-congress-of-the-united-states-of-america-immediately-remove-ag-eric-holder-from-office

The Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman murder case is a hot button issue thanks to Eric Holder, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Barack HUSSEIN Obama, and their ilk who have set back race relations in our country at least 50 years as they deliberately and with malice open up healing racial wounds NOT for justice but to start a race war in America.

On Saturday, George Zimmerman was acquitted by a jury of his peers of ALL charges in the death of 'young adult' Trayvon Martin...a 17-year old whose true character was NOT allowed into evidence by the biased judge presiding over the case.

Instigating unrest because they did NOT like the verdict this group of men have basically said the jury verdict be damned. And today, AG Eric Holder just said on national TV that he and the DOJ will indeed look into civil rights violations George Zimmerman 'supposedly' perpetrated on Trayvon Martin even though after the killing the FBI investigated this and found NO racial bias involved at all.

For Eric Holder to deliberately, maliciously, and with malice saying that 'justice must be served' he has basically claimed the jury reached the wrong verdict and he will make sure the right verdict, according to him, is adjudicated.

For overstepping his bounds and violating the civil rights of George Zimmerman, we the undersigned demand that Eric Holder IMMEDIATELY be removed form his position as Attorney General of the United States.

http://www.change.org/petitions/the-congress-of-the-united-states-of-america-immediately-remove-ag-eric-holder-from-office

The only tip you really need...

Dershowitz to Newsmax: 'Prosecutorial Tyrant' Violated Zimmerman's Rights

By David A. Patten / Newsmax

Famed defense lawyer and Harvard law professor Alan M. Dershowitz is calling for a federal investigation into civil rights violations stemming from the George Zimmerman case — but he says the probe should focus on prosecutorial misconduct rather than on allegations of racial profiling and bias.

Speaking Sunday in an exclusive Newsmax interview, Dershowitz said the jury’s finding that Zimmerman was not guilty of either second-degree murder or manslaughter was “the right verdict.”

He added, “There was reasonable doubt all over the place.”

Immediately after the verdict was announced, however, the NAACP and outspoken activist Al Sharpton called on the Justice Department to launch a federal civil-rights probe, charging that the case had been racially tainted.

Dershowitz is calling for a civil-rights probe as well. But he contends the person whose rights were violated was Zimmerman.

“I think there were violations of civil rights and civil liberties — by the prosecutor,” said the criminal-law expert. “The prosecutor sent this case to a judge, and willfully, deliberately, and in my view criminally withheld exculpatory evidence.”

He added: “They denied the judge the right to see pictures that showed Zimmerman with his nose broken and his head bashed in. The prosecution should be investigated for civil rights violations, and civil liberty violations.”

Dershowitz said the second-degree murder case should never have gone to trial considering the flimsy evidence against Zimmerman. He also does not believe it was strong enough to be submitted to a jury for deliberation.

“If the judge had any courage in applying the law, she never would have allowed the case to go to the jury,” Dershowitz told Newsmax. “She should have entered a verdict based on reasonable doubt.”

Dershowitz singled out special prosecutor Angela Corey for “disciplinary action.”

He criticized the state’s probable-cause affidavit for not including evidence indicating Zimmerman could have been acting in self-defense, including graphic images of blood streaming from his scalp and nose.

“The prosecutor had in her possession photographs that would definitely show a judge that this was not an appropriate case for second-degree murder,” the Harvard professor told Newsmax. “She deliberately withheld and suppressed those photographs, refused to show them to the judge, got the judge to rule erroneously this was a second-degree murder case.

“That violated a whole range of ethical, professional, and legal obligations that prosecutors have. Moreover, they withheld other evidence in the course of the pretrial and trial proceedings, as has been documented by the defense team,” he said.

Dershowitz described the prosecution’s attempt late in the case to add a third-degree murder charge by asserting the shooting constituted child abuse “so professionally irresponsible as to warrant sanctions and investigations.”

Dershowitz said various legal and bar association organizations could investigate how the state handled the prosecution. He added it could warrant a federal investigation as well.

“I think people’s rights have been violated,” the famed attorney told Newsmax, “but it was the rights of the defendant and the defense team, by utterly unprofessional, irresponsible, and in my view criminal actions by the prosecutor,” he said.

Dershowitz went on to express his opinion that Corey is “basically a prosecutorial tyrant, and well known for that in Florida.”

Dershowitz and Corey have had run-ins before. She contacted Harvard Law School demanding that he be disciplined for voicing his opinion that she had improperly omitted information that could have exonerated Zimmerman.

“Of course, the Harvard Law School laughed at [her complaint],” he said.

As of Sunday evening Newsmax had not received a response to a request for Corey’s reaction to Dershowitz’s remarks. Even after the verdict was rendered Saturday, Corey continued to defend her decision to charge Zimmerman with second-degree murder.

“We charge what we believe we can prove,” she told the media. “That’s why we charged second-degree murder. We truly believe that the mindset of George Zimmerman and the words that he used and the reason he was out doing what he was doing fit the bill for second-degree murder.”

Corey said the case “has never been about race,” but also said there was “no doubt” young Trayvon Martin had been “profiled to be a criminal.”

Although Zimmerman was cleared of all charges, Corey told the media: “This case was about boundaries and George Zimmerman exceeded those boundaries.

Dershowitz tells Newsmax he expects there will probably be a lawsuit filed against Zimmerman for civil damages. He said civil-damage cases require a lower standard of proof that a wrong has been committed, and Zimmerman would not be able to avoid testifying.

But Dershowitz adds: “I don’t know where you’ll find a lawyer who is prepared to bring it, because it has very little chance of success.”

Asked if he expects Attorney General Eric Holder’s Justice Department to launch a civil-rights investigation targeting Zimmerman, Dershowitz stated: “I don’t think that’s going to happen, and if it happens, I don’t think it would succeed.”

Dershowitz told Newsmax the prosecutor overcharged the case, and never should have sought a second-degree murder conviction.

“The theory was clearly to charge second-degree murder, and hope for a compromise verdict of manslaughter,” he said.

Dershowitz was careful to add that the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin exposes a need to reform Florida laws.

He believes the Stand Your Ground law should be changed because it "elevates macho over the need to preserve life." 

He also stated that racial profiling “has to be addressed.”

“I think these vigilante community groups have to be disarmed,” he said. “I don’t think Zimmerman should have been allowed to have a gun.

“He should have been walking around with a walkie-talkie and calling the police,” he said. “It’s the job of the police to investigate and apprehend suspects based on their professional training.”

But the need for future legal reforms had no bearing on the Zimmerman trial, Dershowitz said, and insisted the case should never have reached a jury.

"No such thing as Islamic terrorism," says delegate to U.N. conference on how to criminalize criticism of Islam

From Jihad Watch / Posted by Robert Spencer

The U.S. delegates mouth some pieties about free speech, but then call for ways to implement UNHRC Resolution 16/18, which amounts to calling for restrictions on free speech.

Anyway, claiming that there is no such thing as Islamic terrorism, despite piles of dead bodies to the contrary, is essential to this campaign and reveals its heart: the OIC is trying to get the West to accept the idea that any discussion of how jihadists use the texts and teachings of Islam to justify violence and supremacism is motivated by bigotry, not by a desire to understand the motives and goals of actual terrorists. The effect will be to clear away obstacles so that those terrorists can act more freely.

"'No such thing as Islamic terrorism,' delegate tells UN confab on religious sensitivities," from UN Watch, July 12 (thanks to Pat Condell):

GENEVA – Nations attacked the West for wrongly associating Islam with terrorism at a June 19-21 international conference in Geneva organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, part of the U.S.-Turkish led “Istanbul Process,” an intended Western-Islamic framework for détentecreated by a 2011 UN Human Rights Council resolution to “combat intolerance, discrimination and incitement to hatred and/or violence on the basis of religion or belief.” 

The 3rd International Expert Meeting on the Follow-Up and Implementation of HRC Resolution 16/18 was held at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. The previous meeting of the Istanbul Proces was hosted by then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, D.C., in December 2011.

Critics say the resolution and its follow-up process have seen the U.S. legitimize the longstanding Islamic campaign at the UN to ban “defamation of religion,” only with different terminology. 

A central theme of the conference was how to balance freedom of speech with freedom of religion. Many countries argued for protecting “religious sensitivities.” Indonesia stated that freedom of speech is not absolute, and that it must come with restrictions based on legitimate grounds.

Egypt said that freedom of opinion is a manifestation of social freedoms – and is therefore the mother of all rights – but that the freedom of religion must also be considered in light of basic human rights, given the fact that Articles 19 and 20 of the ICCPR impose duties and responsibilities. 

Mr. Taskin Soykan, an adviser on combating intolerance and discrimination against Muslims at the OSCE, said that freedom of religion is “sacrosanct but not absolute,” and that individuals have responsibilities in exercising the right. 

Western states emphasized the need to protect free speech. United States Ambassador Eileen Donahoe paraphrased Hillary Clinton: ‘Is our faith so weak that we can’t discuss and question it?:

Senate’s Nuclear Farm Dust

Dan Holler / Townhall Columnist

 

 

“Democrats Invoke ‘Nuclear Option’ in Senate”

This is not a prediction of what will happen this week, but rather documentation of what has already happened in Harry Reid’s Senate. That’s right: Reid has already invoked the nuclear option. On October 6, 2011, ABC News explained:

“Democrats invoked the so-called ‘nuclear option’ to change the rules in the U.S. Senate, bypassing Republicans and evading two difficult votes, including one on President Obama’s jobs bill.

“The procedural precedent, which blocked Republicans from adding more amendments, could speed passage of a bill to punish China for currency manipulation.

“It could also open a Pandora’s box, forever altering the traditions of the senate and its role on Capitol Hill.
…
“…Republicans sought to add as amendments to the China currency bill two measures on which Democrats did not want to vote – one was on the President’s jobs bill, which they hope to change, and another was from Senator Mike Johanns, R-NE., to block EPA rules on farm dust.”

Reid’s use of the ‘nuclear option’ 649 days ago provides more clarity as to what exactly the ‘nuclear option’ is and why it is such a big deal. Throughout much of the recent debate, we’ve heard – and understandably so – about the filibuster and confirmation process for judicial and executive branch nominees.

Yesterday on Meet the Press, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) explained President Obama “has had 1,540 of his nominations confirmed, only 4 defeated. He's not lost a single member of the cabinet.

He's getting them faster than President Bush was at the same time in his second term.”

Before McConnell went into the numbers, he explained the reason the ‘nuclear option’ is called the ‘nuclear option’ is “because it's breaking the rules of the Senate in order to change the rules of the Senate.”

And while it is absolutely true most folks don’t enjoy getting into the weeds on congressional procedure, conservatives must understand the procedure. Not only does a mastery of procedure help advance policy, but knowledge will also help explain Harry Reid’s actions.

Briefly: The Senate can change it’s rules at any time by a two-thirds vote (67), but the ‘nuclear option’ provides a way to bypass that super-majority threshold and change the rules with a majority (51). And yes, Vice President Joe Biden could be the decisive vote.

This is exactly what Reid did in October 2011 (sans Biden) when he was fearful the Obama administration would be dealt two embarrassing defeats if red-state Democrats voted to overrule the EPA on farm dust and reject Obama’s stimulus. Rather than allow those votes to occur, Reid went nuclear.

On the Senate floor, Reid said, “What just took place here is an effort to expedite what goes on around here.” He then played question and answer with himself: “Am I 100 percent confident that I’m right? No. But I feel pretty comfortable with what we’ve done.”

There are two important takeaways from this episode.

First, the actual impact of the unilateral rules change was rather narrow, only impacting amendments offered after cloture (requiring 60 votes) had already been invoked.

Second, while Reid deployed an admittedly small nuclear weapon on the Senate floor, the fall out was surprisingly minimal. There were a handful of animated speeches, but the China currency bill passed with 63 votes. Three free trade agreements passed a day later. And nominations and appropriations bills continued apace.

We could know as early as tomorrow whether Reid will go nuclear again. The stakes are much higher this time around, but Reid has shown a willingness to take the Senate to the brink to achieve major concessions from his Republican antagonists.

Earlier this year, Reid secured a series of the rule changes that weakened the rights of the Senate minority and limited the opportunity of individual senators to represent their constituents. Many in Reid’s conference wanted him to go further, secure even more concessions.

They may very well have their chance this week, and you can guarantee President Obama will be watching closely this week. As someone who frequently ignores the law (i.e., employer mandate), it should come as not surprise Obama has given Reid his blessing.

What was that quote about being a nation of laws, not men?

 

Soros, Obama Are Wrong: China's Not All That

John Ransom / Townhall Finance Editor

It was just two years ago that international, big-state economists were telling us that China would surpass the United States in GDP by 2016.

Economic, financial and progressive talking heads- whose hind parts are where their head parts ought to be- were then saying that China was to become the dominant economic player in the world by 2016.

That claim rested on the strength of an IMF report projecting GDP growth for China surpassing the US in GDP by 2016, just two years from now, by the specious use of purchasing power parity.

Purchasing power parity is a math fiction that allows economists to count a 450 square foot , 7 bedroom apartment in Zhucheng as the economic equivalent of a 1,100 square foot 2 bedroom apartment in Lone Tree. 

Armed with math like that progressives claimed that the IMF report showed that China was a much better economic model to follow.

Back then, liberals were hailing China’s top-down economic management and acumen; marveling at the endless supply of people and sucking up to Commies like they were the reigning champions on the worldwide smash hit The World Has Talent. 

“Perfect order and global governance are not realistic expectations,” George Soros told a group of sycophants at the Paris Club, in, er, Paris, France. “However, it is a sad fact that Western democracies provide less successful leadership than China.”

It’s hard to believe I know, but even the President of the United States, Barack H. “Look-at-Me” Obama, was elbowed out of the spotlight by China.

It got so bad that the liberal savior was wishing out loud that he were president of China in Beijing, as opposed to being president of the most vibrant republic the world has ever seen. 

The New York Times reported: “Obama has told people that it would be so much easier to be the president of China.”  He was rightly savaged for that incredibly stupid, misguided and ill-informed comment leaked by incredibly stupid, misguided and ill-informed White House staffers to an incredibly stupid, misguided and ill-informed newspaper. 

But something dreadful has happened to the command-and-control state since then.

Yes… economics- and liberty, which is really the same thing- have elbowed China aside and the once-soon-to-be-most-powerful country in the world is looking more like a wannabe economy to the great surprise of George Soros and Barack Obama.

“Growth in China,” reports the Wall Street Journal, “the world's second-biggest economy after the U.S., has been slowing since 2007's peak, but that slowdown has accelerated recently. This year, according to the government's target and economists' estimates, China is likely to see its weakest growth since 1990, around 7.5%.”

By the by 7.5% is the official estimate…yeah, the one the government says the economy will produce. 

Some China watchers, however, are saying what we have said all along: China’s demographics are real but the economy is paper dragon. 

“Chinese financial markets often seem less volatile than one would expect for a poor, developing country,” wrote Michael Pettis via Mike Shedlock’s Global Economic Trend Analysis, “largely because of administrative measures that intentionally or unintentionally suppress normal volatility.

These kinds of systems, however, are not less volatile. They seem less volatile because small shocks have minimal impact. Larger shocks, however, tend to cause a much greater than expected surge in volatility.”

There is a lot to be said about having two billion people when your economy is growing, but hard to keep growing that way when you have the president in Beijing calling the shots with a lot of little presidents scattered in the provinces doing the same thing all anxious to cover-up their own Solyndras and Fast and Furious scandals.

Let’s just say that financial transparency isn’t a strength for China. In fact, ZeroHedge thinks “that China's 2012 GDP growth was only 3-4%, half the reported 7.8%.”

“The chances for China to achieve both structural economic reform and a smooth growth trajectory—to have its cake and eat it too, in the manner to which it has become accustomed—are now much reduced,” says Andrew Batson, research director at Beijing-based economic consultancy GK Dragonomics, according to BusinessWeek. “China needs to stop forcing SOEs (State Sponsored Enterprises) to make lousy investments. Yet it is precisely the government’s ability to get the state sector to invest, regardless of the short-term outlook, that kept growth from being even weaker in the 2008 and 2012 downturns,” writes Batson. “China must give up its main tool for supporting short-term growth if it is to have a good chance of achieving decent longer-term growth.”

That criticism is largely true here in the U.S. and in the European economies as well.

Politicians are sacrificing long-term economic growth for the Band-Aid that gets them from one election cycle to the next.

That dictatorships and democracies alike are both making the same mistakes should serve as a wake up call to both forms of government that they are out of touch, out of luck and out of ideas.

Kind of says it all...

Op-ed:                                                                                                      Court in session...and the verdict is...NOT GUILTY!!!

By: Diane Sori

Politics does indeed permeate our judicial system through the two should NEVER mix, and that was proven with George Zimmerman being rightly found NOT guilty Saturday night in a unanimous decision...much to the chagrin of race-baiters Barack HUSSEIN Obama, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and their ilk who used Zimmerman as a pawn in their attempt to open healing racial wounds to serve their own political agendas.

Starting with overcharging George Zimmerman with second-degree murder, this case has now ignited a national debate over self-defense laws and race relations as six jurors reached a verdict that proved that sometimes a tragedy NO matter how sad it might be for a family is just NOT a crime... especially when the victim is portrayed to be something he is NOT.

George Zimmerman never denied shooting Trayvon Martin, but he said he did so in self defense. And while nobody is happy that a young man is dead, the bottom line is that Trayvon Martin was a 17-year old thug NO matter how many times the prosecution called him a 'sweet child'. Coming to light after the verdict was reached was that the prosecution knew that Trayvon had jewelery and such in his possession that clearly did NOT belong to him, yet they hid this fact from the defense until it was too late to use as the biased judge had already ruled that Trayvon's 'character' would NOT be allowed to be brought into evidence.

Nor would the truth about the Skittles and iced tea be allowed into evidence, a combination when mixed with cough syrup becomes a street drug and a cheap high (known as Purple Drank or Lean) even while knowing that both were found unopened by the police at the scene...nor were Trayvon's cell phone pics of his homegrown marijuana plants, the pics of him blowing joint smoke, the pic of his hand holding a gun, or the pics of him with his middle fingers in the air with a look on his face that was chilling...nor were his text messages with obvious racial overtones and bravado about his fighting abilities...nor was his past incident about punching a bus driver in a fit of rage.

NO...none of this would be allowed into evidence by a judge so obviously biased towards the prosecution, with an attitude so arrogant that her very demeanor was an insult to everyone in that courtroom. Judge Debra Nelson herself needs to be reprimanded a least, disbarred at best, as she ruled time and again NOT to allow defense evidence into testimony.

And in a last minute grandstand play, Judge Nelson told the jurors that in addition to the second-degree murder charge, they could also find George Zimmerman guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter (a charge where the prosecutors only had to convince the jury that Zimmerman killed without lawful justification), but NEVER telling them that a manslaughter conviction could have George Zimmerman facing up to 30 years in prison. And earlier Saturday, showing how shocked even they were at the inclusion of this new charge, the jury sent a note to the judge requesting clarification of instructions related to manslaughter, giving credence to how seriously they were reviewing the case, and how seriously they were looking at the possibility of what many considered a compromise verdict.

Before deliberations began the jury was instructed by Judge Nelson that “Zimmerman cannot be guilty of manslaughter by committing a merely negligent act or if the killing was either justifiable or excusable homicide.” But probably a critical turning point in the jury deliberations was when Nelson refused to answer their direct question on what really was the level required for the crime of manslaughter, as her refusal allowed Nelson's constant indigent attitude to finally come to a head, and this refusal could have been a light bulb moment for the jury who might now have realized that George Zimmerman was being railroaded.

The NOT guilty verdict means the jury found that Zimmerman justifiably used deadly force, as per Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' law. They came to the conclusion that he reasonably believed that such force was "necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm" to himself, which is Florida's definition of self-defense.

The charges broke down as followed: for second-degree murder the jurors would have had to believe that Martin's unlawful killing was "done from ill will, hatred, spite or an evil intent" and would be "of such a nature that the act itself indicates an indifference to human life."

To convict Zimmerman of manslaughter, the jurors would have had to believe he "intentionally committed an act or acts that caused the death of Trayvon Martin."

Thankfully, after deliberating for 16 hours, the jury came back with a verdict of NOT guilty on all charges...and that should have ended this sad case...a case that should NEVER have been brought in the first place, a case hyped by the media and instigated by Barack HUSSEIN 'If I had a son he'd look like Trayvon' Obama, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and their racist ilk. But instead this is what happens...even after head prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda said, "I am disappointed in the verdict but I respect it. We accept the jury's verdict"...Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the NAACP said that just because Zimmerman had been cleared on all charges doesn't mean that this case is over. So on Saturday night a petition was posted to the Department of Justice, asking AG Eric Holder to file civil rights charges against Zimmerman, saying there is no more fundamental civil right than the right to live.

But this case as presented by both the prosecution and the defense was NEVER a case about race or civil rights but a case about a killing done in self-defense, so the NAACP is way off base on this one. And also important to note is that soon after the killing took place the FBI did their own investigation and found NO racial bias in reference to this event.

And so while both sides did ask for peace even before the verdict was read, people like Jesse Jackson were fueling the flames of racial discontentment. On FOX News' Judge Jeanine show on Saturday night, this miserable excuse of a man said the only verdict he would accept would be second-degree murder or manslaughter, and that he would NOT be happy with anything else. First, who gives a damn what Jesse Jackson would accept, and second, his words sounded very much like a threat of violence if the verdict didn't go how he and his ilk wanted it to go.

And adding even more discontentment, big mouth, race-baiter Al Sharpton issued a statement saying, "The acquittal of George Zimmerman is a slap in the face to the American people".

NO...I don't think so as the acquittal of George Zimmerman shows that our system of justice still works in spite of the liberal left and the racial bigots trying to hijack it.

As expected after the NOT Guilty verdict came down the internet came alive with all sorts of rage against Zimmerman (and small scale rioting did break out in some cities), so much so that now George Zimmerman will have to live his life in fear of a fringe element who have said, at least in tweets and on the internet, that they 'demand' revenge for Trayvon.

One person wrote on twitter, "What kind of world do we live in where an innocent is killed, and the killer is found innocent?...America has given a free pass to murder black youth." And while many blacks believed this case was about generations of young black men being targeted, stalked, and brutalized by police, security guards, neighborhood watches and the courts NOTHING could be further from the truth as most so-called 'black innocents' are killed as a result of black-on-black crime NOT by the perceived notion that whites are after young black men.

And this is something Obama and his ilk don't want anyone to know for they'd rather condemn and accuse non-blacks, even without evidence, while they ignore the murder of their own by people by their own people. For them, feeding into the perception is more important than facts, but the fact is that 93% of blacks killed in America are killed by blacks, And the truth is that while blacks make up only 12.5% of the US population they commit nearly 40% of murders in America every year, with nearly 50% of those murder victims being black. Yet remember that blacks make up only 12.5% of the total population culminating in the sad reality that blacks kill more members of their own race every year than do all other races in America combined.

And with NO outrage within the black community about this most truthful of all sad realities, the perception of 'the white man' doing injustice to 'the black man' will continue...egged on by the likes of Barack HUSSEIN Obama, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and their ilk, because racial divide serves their purposes of bringing America to her knees oh so well.

And through George Zimmerman...a now officially adjudicated innocent man...all their racism, bigotry, and hate will funnel as they work towards their goal of starting a race war here in America.

Project 21 Black Conservatives Analyze Aftermath of Zimmerman Case

by Jennifer Burke, TPNN Contributor

Washington, D.C. – Members of the Project 21 black leadership network are analyzing the legal aspects of the George Zimmerman verdict and commenting on the implications:


Horace Cooper
“While I’m thrilled with this outcome, it should never have come to this. This case should never have been brought forward. The grand jury should never have been bypassed and Judge Nelson should never have allowed this case to get this far. There’s a reason the investigating officer refused to support an arrest, there’s a reason the state’s attorney refused to prosecute and there’s a reason the grand jury was bypassed. There was no substantial evidence corroborating the state’s case and a whole heck of evidence supporting Mr. Zimmerman. The rush to arrest and indict Zimmerman merely to appease the media or race-based interest groups not only jeopardized Mr. Zimmerman’s rights and liberty, but the precedent suggests that all of our rights could be infringed.”
-Cooper, the co-chairman of Project 21, is a former law professor and former congressional leadership staff member.

 Darryn “Dutch” Martin

“It goes without saying that a 17-year-old child is dead, and this verdict – though just and correct in my view – will not bring him back. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones. But it needs to be understood that the case against George Zimmerman for the death of Trayvon Martin was not supposed to be about race. It was always about self-defense. Zimmerman’s defense team proved this and the jury concurred. Justice has been served. Now, let’s pray that cooler heads prevail.”
-Martin, a member of Project 21, is a former member of the American diplomatic corps.

Lisa Fritsch

“Despite a not guilty verdict, we must remember that George Zimmerman is not truly free. This trial will forever remain in his mind for his remaining days. Our hope should be that this trial and verdict will unite the Florida community and this country and be a healing testimony to what happens when we think the worst of one another first. In this case, it felt as if our very country were on trial for racial prejudice. The not guilty verdict should make us reflect on what it means to give the benefit of the doubt before judging harshly and deciding one’s actions are racially motivated. The final question for every community is how we can protect our youth from a system of violence and a lifestyle that nearly guarantees they will find trouble. Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin’s family and more urban Americans will hopefully use this case and verdict as an opportunity to correct that system.”
-Fritsch is a member of Project 21 as well as a tea party activist, author and talk radio host.

Hughey Newsome

“Everything about the verdict can be wrapped up by considering the post-verdict comments of Zimmerman attorney Mark O’Mara. While many may feel that O’Mara’s comment about charges not being filed against Zimmerman if Zimmerman were black may seem insensitive and oblivious, his subsequent comments about the need for a civil rights discussion in regards to African-American males are timely despite his feeling it is irrelevant to this case. Those saying the value placed on an African-American male is diminished in today’s society must now ask themselves, if this is believed to be true, what is causing this phenomenon? So many in the media and entertainment industries seem to profit off perpetuating the image of the African-American male as violent and sexual animals, but this is then ignored in order to complain about overt racism that is mostly marginalized in today’s society. This gets us no closer to solving the problem at hand.”
-Newsome, a Project 21 member, is a financial expert and also the Washington representative for the Move-On-Up.Org black political organization.

Emery McClendon

“We must stop looking at issues from a racial context and stand together as one America – with God as our strength. To use a familiar phrase these days, let’s not stay ‘stuck on stupid’ and move on to heal our land. We have so much to be thankful for. For too long, people such as the NAACP’s Ben Jealous and Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have spoke out in hate and ignorance and found placement in the media. It’s time to stop the madness. We must turn the tide. If we put as much time into restoring our Constitution as we did into the Zimmerman trial, America would be a better place for all of us.”
-McClendon is a Project 21 member and tea party activist.

Project 21 was formed in 1992 when the riots following the verdict in the Rodney King case revealed a need to highlight the diversity of opinion within the black community. For over 20 years, the volunteer members of the Project 21 black leadership network have provided conservative and free-market perspectives that, until that time, were largely unknown or ignored by the establishment media.

During the course of the Zimmerman trial, which was heard in the Seminole County (Florida) Circuit Court, Project 21 members provided commentary and continue to be available for interviews about the case and the issues surrounding it. Project 21 regularly issued press releases featuring quotes from its members on the breaking news about the trial and the controversies surrounding it.

Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives since 1992, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research (http://www.nationalcenter.org).