Trayvon Martin Investigation-By-Media Devolves Into Victim Blaming

Predictably, the tragic shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin has turned into another round of "What did the victim do to cause his own death?" instead of "Why is George Zimmerman acting as a vigilante, sentencing a kid he stalked to death because of possibly winding up on the losing end of a fist fight Zimmerman instigated?"

It's disappointing, but ... alas, not surprising.

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Geraldo Rivera Thinks Trayvon's Death Is About A Hoodie (Video)

Geraldo Rivera recently fell into the victim blaming trap of "well ... what were you wearing" in the Trayvon Martin shooting death case. While saying that he believed George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old man who shot and killed Martin for walking-while-black, should be investigated thoroughly, he fell into the same logic trap many people fall into -- telling victims to modify their behavior rather than staying focused on the self-appointed Batman who stalked and shot a kid.

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Sanford Police Chief Steps Down After Accusations of Botching Trayvon Martin Shooting Investigation

While he's saying that he's "become a distraction" to the Trayvon Martin case, Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee Jr.'s biggest problem was taking George Zimmerman's word for it, then not actually investigating anything. There's also the little matter of those who overheard the shooting saying officers tried to coerce them into saying it was Zimmerman screaming for help and not 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

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No Apologies: On The Killing of Trayvon Martin And Being "Good"

In the tragic murder of Trayvon Martin, there's no safe place. There's no real excuse to cling to. None of the usual dismissals work or fit. It's just bad. Real bad. And sits there and stares at you with it's cruelty and unfairness and ugliness and says, "Take this."

Take this load. And pick it up.

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Perry Drops White House Bid; ABC News Has An Ex-Wife Bomb For Newt; Nobody Knows Who Won Iowa

Rick Perry (Click to Enlarge)Rick Perry, in his effort to be your man in Washington, has finally realized it's time to pick up his Buzz Lightyear and Woody cowboy dolls and threats against our NATO allies and go home to Austin. I imagine there will be a lot of grimacing and pouting, but the dude had to go home at some time. He was polling at four percent in South Carolina ahead of the primary.

Does this mean he's going to skip out on tonight's CNN debate? Considering how much Perry loved the debates that proved he was unelectable, I'm going to guess he's watching this one from the TV in his hotel room.

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GOP Puts Out Hit On 'Racist' Ron Paul Over Iowa

"Ball so hard, these Republicans wanna fine me."

Man, how worried do you think the GOP is about Ron Paul winning a state? I think they're pretty worried. Like, cry, gnash teeth and pull hair worried. They're actually attacking Ron Paul! With mean words and warnings and EVERYTHING! CNN is chasing him around, demanding "answers" to things! Folks are trying super hard to make that "Ron Paul is probably a racist bigot" thing ... a thing! There's even a fake Twitter about it! He's a Real Live Candidate! 

He's arrived! And he's arrived with the potential to destroy, like Galactus: Devourer of Worlds.

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Leonard Pitts Wonders If Herman Cain Is Ashamed to Be Black

Racialized self-loathing is a pretty common ailment many African Americans suffer from, both in major and minor doses. Almost everyone has dealt with some form of it at some time. The important thing is usually through the help of others or self-education, many individuals can work through it. In his latest column, Leonard Pitts, Jr. wonders if Herman Cain is one of those folks who fully bought that white is right.

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Black Students Targeted For Suspensions More Often Than Whites

Photo via US Dept. of EducationIn today's latest depressing, but not surprising news, The Root is reporting on a new study that reveals that black students are routinely given suspensions and harsher punishments than white students for similar offenses. The National Education Policy Center study found that school suspensions for non-white students have gone up by 100 percent since 1970. As a product of integrated, suburban schools in St. Louis County, I'd have to say, "No joke."

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Racist Ranch Name Comes Back to Haunt Rick Perry

Via Authentic HistoryTexas Gov. Rick Perry got himself involved in a little racial imbroglio this weekend when The Washington Post ran a story on some rural West Texas property managed by his family that contained the name of "Niggerhead Rock." Perry contends his family painted over the rock with the problematic name shortly after acquiring the old hunting grounds and cattle land, but visitors to the ranch say, "Nuh uh." And no matter what, people in the area who hunted on the land seemed very aware that the place had just always been called "Niggerhead," a slur that, at one point in American history, was commonly used to describe everything from streets to brands of tobacco.

But, is anyone surprised? (I used to live in West Texas, Midland, to be precise, so I'm just going to say, "No. No you shouldn't surprised.")

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