The Morning Flap: March 29, 2012

These are my links for March 28th through March 29th:

Blame Palin? ‘Kill Zimmerman’ Twitter Account Launched – Barack Obama has remained silent as the usual suspects have been busy stirring up hate aimed at George Zimmerman, the Florida Hispanic involved in the shooting death of 17 year-old Trayvon Martin. Now the anger has taken a new twist, breaking out on Twitter with an account named “Kill Zimmerman.” It features an image of Zimmerman in crosshairs.
Report: Zimmerman Told Police Teen Punched Him Before Fatal Shooting – The core of Trayvon Martin’s story has been told again and again in recent days — about how the 17-year-old went out to a Sanford, Florida, convenience store, only to be killed on his way back to his father’s fiance’s home.
Yet one month later, questions persist as to exactly how and why that happened. The man who admitted shooting the teen has not been charged in connection to the case, much to the dismay of Martin’s parents and thousands of strangers nationwide who’ve rallied behind them.

On Monday, the story continued to gain both complexity, and clarity, thanks to details of the account that Martin’s shooter gave to police after the shooting.

George Zimmerman’s description is outlined in an Orlando Sentinel article that cited “authorities” as the source of its information. The Sanford Police Department subsequently released a statement that, while condemning what it called”unauthorized leaks,” confirmed the newspaper account “is consistent with the information provided to the State Attorney’s office by the police department.”

Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer, told police he was on his way to the grocery store when he saw Martin, a black male, walking through his gated community, according to the Sentinel report.

“Something’s wrong with him,” he told a 911 dispatcher, according to the contents of a call released last week. “Yep. He’s coming to check me out. He’s got something in his hands.”

The teen started to run, Zimmerman said. When he said he was following the boy, the dispatcher told him, “We don’t need you to do that.”

Shortly afterward, neighbors began calling 911 to report an apparent altercation, then a gunshot.

The Orlando Sentinel report fills in some blanks, purportedly from Zimmerman’s perspective, of what transpired in the meantime.
EXCLUSIVE: Robert Zimmerman interview – For the first time since that fateful night on February 26, the father of a neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed an unarmed teenager sat down for a television interview.
Robert Zimmerman, father of George Zimmerman, said he decided it was time to speak out for his son, against the advice of others. He shared with us what George said happened on the night that 17-year-old Trayvon Martin died.

“It’s my understanding that Trayvon Martin got on top of him and just started beating him,” the 64-year-old Robert Zimmerman said.

He said he felt his son has been portrayed in the wrong way. He also said he and his family have received death threats and asked that we not show his face on camera.

Because there has been a lot of break-ins in the area, Robert said George thought it suspicious that someone would not be walking on the street or the sidewalk on a rainy night — that Martin would be walking between the town homes. He said after making those observations, his son decided to call the police.
San Francisco Plastic Bag Ban to Go National? – Hide your kids, hide your wife: the scourge of the grocery market remains on the lam. Fortunately, courageous legislators have assumed the burden of this great responsibility to ban plastic bags nationwide and, in the process, throttle the manufacturing sector.
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors earned the ignominy in 2007 of introducing the first legislative proscription of plastic bags in supermarkets and chain pharmacies. Last month, the same Board extended the landmark ban to all retail establishments and restaurants. North of 50 municipalities have taken similar action to eliminate the bags in the interim, either through an outright ban or taxes on those businesses that use them.

“This effort’s no longer confined to San Francisco,” remarked an environmental politics watchdog with whom Capitol Confidential spoke. “How any nanny state legislation with roots in the City by the Bay can be seen as a legitimate tactic to be pursued in places like Texas is a truly frightening commentary on the nation’s political landscape.”

By Big Government’s count, three state legislatures are considering statewide bans on these 100 percent recyclable shopping bags. Another 90 jurisdictions still are considering mirrored legislation.
Rubio: I’m not going to be vice president – For the record, it’s still no. But is Florida’s Republican Sen. Marco Rubio leaving his vice presidential options open? Consider how he answered the question Thursday to CNN.
“My answer hasn’t changed on the vice presidential stuff. I know people keep asking me but my answer hasn’t changed,” Rubio told CNN one day after announcing his endorsement of GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney.
@Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-29 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-29
Video: Rep Bobby Rush Wears a Hoodie in Congress – Kicked Off the Floor | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Video: Rep Bobby Rush Wears a Hoodie in Congress – Kicked Off the Floor
@Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-28 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-03-28
The Morning Flap: March 28, 2012 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – The Morning Flap: March 28, 2012
Day By Day March 28, 2012 – Made | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day March 28, 2012 – Made
AD-38: B.J. Atkins Republican Central Committee Member Calls on Patricia McKeon to Release Steve Cooley Documents » Flap’s California Blog – AD-38: B.J. Atkins Republican Central Committee Member Calls on Patricia McKeon to Release Steve Cooley Documents
Justices poised to strike down entire healthcare law – The Supreme Court’s conservative justices said Wednesday they are prepared to strike down President Obama’s healthcare law entirely.
Picking up where they left off Tuesday, the conservatives said they thought a decision striking down the law’s controversial individual mandate to purchase health insurance means the whole statute should fall with it.

The court’s conservatives sounded as though they had determined for themselves that the 2,700-page measure must be declared unconstitutional.

“One way or another, Congress will have to revisit it in toto,” said Justice Antonin Scalia.

Agreeing, Justice Anthony Kennedy said it would be an “extreme proposition” to allow the various insurance regulations to stand after the mandate was struck down.

Meanwhile, the court’s liberal justices argued for restraint. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the court should do a “salvage job,” not undertake a “wrecking operation.” But she looked to be out-voted.
Only On 2: Senator Sharon Runner Discusses Life-Saving Double Lung Transplant For 1st Time « CBS Los Angeles – Only On 2: Senator Sharon Runner Discusses Life-Saving Double Lung Transplant For 1st Time « CBS Los Angeles
Flap’s Dentistry Blog: The Daily Extraction: March 28, 2012 – The Daily Extraction: March 28, 2012
Only On 2: Senator Sharon Runner Discusses Life-Saving Double Lung Transplant For 1st Time « CBS Los Angeles – Senator Sharon Runner Discusses Life-Saving Double Lung Transplant For 1st Time
Senator Sharon Runner Discusses Life-Saving Double Lung Transplant For 1st Time –
Untitled (http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/28/4372454/fletcher-leaves-gop-before-san.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#mi_rss=Latest%20News) – RT @sacbee_news: APNewsBreak: Fletcher bolts GOP in San Diego