Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Scandalmongering

Updated 7/14/2013
Remember, the snark is only a sideshow. This is what it's really about. Whether there's to be a privately enforceable death penalty for walking while black.
This is an amazing pseudoscandal that has been blowing like the scirocco all day, beginning I guess with a report from Judicial Watch, a wingnut welfare dispensary (to be fair, they have targeted a number of genuinely corrupt Republicans) funded by Richard Mellon [jump]
Scaife, which has posted a dump of FOIA-obtained documents from the Community Relations Service, a "little-known unit of the Department of Justice", accusing them of spending several thousand dollars to encourage protests against accused murderer George Zimmerman in March-April 2012. The story was then picked up by the Daily Caller, which got pretty hysterical, and is now echoing through the feedback loop. Your next SCANDAL.

Happily, all the documents reveal is the CRS doing its job, as officially defined:
The Community Relations Service is the Department's "peacemaker" for community conflicts and tensions arising from differences of race, color, and national origin. Created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, CRS is the only Federal agency dedicated to assist State and local units of government, private and public organizations, and community groups with preventing and resolving racial and ethnic tensions, incidents, and civil disorders, and in restoring racial stability and harmony.
You really can't find any evidence in the documents of anything even slightly untoward. The closest is some audio of
a “community meeting” held at Second Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Sanford on April 19, 2012.  The meeting, which opens with a gospel hymn and organ music, is reported to have led to the official ouster of Sanford’s Police Chief Bill Lee. 
La-di-da! I'm scandalized!

Lee's failure to charge Zimmerman in the first place was the cause of community tension and a terrible case of police malpractice. He certainly needed to go.

And speaking of malpractice, the fraudulent practice of organizations like Judicial Watch in spreading phony scandals is a real scandal. Obviously they are free to tell lies, thanks to our splendid First Amendment, for which I have a reverence second to none, but could they somehow be sued? Like, to remove their tax exemption? Not that anybody's ever challenged it, but they're very concerned about their friends.
Oh, and Sarah? Is there any special reason you haven't gone away yet?

Free Republic via Democratic Underground. Not explained who God was praying to, but I guess the implication is clear.
Then I'll be all around in the dark - I'll be ever'where—wherever you look. Wherever they's a fight so hungry people can be denied food, I'll be there. Wherever they's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there applauding... I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad an'—I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're dealing drugs on their Obamaphones. An' when our folk eat on Fox's dollar an' live in the hotels—why, I'll be there.
Update 7/14:

Trial's over, Zimmerman has been found Not Guilty, and—surprise!—no riots. I guess the DOJ must have been too busy fomenting other stuff.

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