Bill Maher: Bill O’Reilly, Republicans, Don’t Hear What Obama Says

On Friday’s Real Time on HBO, host Bill Maher compared President Obama’s statement on African-American men and crime with Bill O’Reilly’s statement about statistical evidence on blacks and homicide. One Friday earlier, President Obama said, “Now, this isn’t to say that the African-American community is naive about the fact that African-American young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system.” Obama said this during his much talked about and unscripted remarks on Trayvon Martin, the Zimmerman not-guilty verdict, and race relations in America.

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NRA, ALEC, Want You To Stand Your Ground, Wild West Style

The National Rifle Association (NRA) and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — I just love these names — want you to stand your ground like it’s still the 19th century Wild West — unless your are black of course. I don’t see the NRA saying if Trayvon Martin had a gun he could have defended himself. What was that saying again — “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun.” Was Trayvon Martin the “bad guy” because he didn’t have a gun?

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When A Case Against Liberal Media Portrayal Of Racism Goes Horribly Wrong

It is certainly possible to build a solid case that reveals a “jump-to-conclusion” style of reporting when it comes to stories about racism from the so-called liberal media. But Ann Coulter’s piece titled (“To Avoid Looking Like a Criminal, Don’t Commit a Crime“) is not one. We know the news media (less so for local news, more so for newspapers and cable news networks) is quick to add racism into the mix in a white on black crime or a black on white crime. The history of this country shows there’s good reason for suspicion of racism, and it makes for more readers or more viewers, so the mainstream media can’t help itself. So yes, a case could be made that racism is invoked more than can be proven.

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President Obama Addresses The Zimmerman Verdict, Trayvon Martin, And Race

At about 1:30pm today, President Obama delivered an unannounced address on Trayvon Martin, the Zimmerman trial, and race in America. He spoke at length about the African-American community and the historical and contemporary perspective in which that community views the not guilty verdict. “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago,” said Obama, later adding that most African-American males have experiences like the sound of car doors locking when walking across the street or a woman clutching her purse in an elevator. The president also said that Americans are aware of a “history of racial disparity in our criminal laws,” and that is good reason for government to review Florida’s “stand your ground” law and other state and local laws.

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Post-Racial Pendulum Swing: The Fleecing Of Power From White America, According To White America

Tell me if you’ve heard about or read about something like this recently. — You see an article, or a Facebook post decrying President Obama, Al Sharpton, and anybody else considered by some to be the “other” for making comments in support of Trayvon Martin’s family or his memory. Or worse yet, these prominent figures of darker complexion, hence questionable motives, dare interject race into the conversation.

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Justice Is Not Blind: A Few Thoughts On The George Zimmerman Not Guilty Verdict

Last night a jury of six women found George Zimmerman not guilty of both second degree murder and manslaughter. After the verdict, Zimmerman’s defense attorneys went on television, gloating with glee on the victory they brought for their client, clearly showing no regard for a dead 17-year-old boy. According to Up with Steve Kornacki, defense attorney Don West did not shake hands with the prosecution lawyers. And in his post-verdict television conference, he smiled when provoking a stupid question about his “knock, knock” joke that opened up the court proceedings, telling reporters that “I still think the joke was funny, I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry I didn’t tell it better.” Well thanks for the apology, and I’m not sure if you could be anymore disrespectful to a dead kid, a kid killed by your client.

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