The trial of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin will end today with a verdict. Or tomorrow. Or soon.
To me, the evidence is clear. But this is America and race is central to the trial as it is to most things societal. Will the jury of six women give the parents of Trayvon some peace? Some justice?
Make no bets when race is involved.
Paul Krugman’s column this morning addresses the issue of the myth of the absent white voter in the 2012 election and the prospects for what he calls “libertarian populism.”
Krugman dismisses the theory of the absent white voter by looking at the data.
We know that the facts have a Left-wing bias.
Enter libertarian populism. The idea here is that there exists a pool of disaffected working-class white voters who failed to turn out last year but can be mobilized again with the right kind of conservative economic program — and that this remobilization can restore the Republican Party’s electoral fortunes.
Krugman produces some facts:
Moreover, if you look at what the modern Republican Party actually stands for in practice, it’s clearly inimical to the interests of those downscale whites the party can supposedly win back. Neither a flat tax nor a return to the gold standard are actually on the table; but cuts in unemployment benefits, food stamps and Medicaid are. (To the extent that there was any substance to the Ryan plan, it mainly involved savage cuts in aid to the poor.) And while many nonwhite Americans depend on these safety-net programs, so do many less-well-off whites — the very voters libertarian populism is supposed to reach.
Specifically, more than 60 percent of those benefiting from unemployment insurance are white. Slightly less than half of food stamp beneficiaries are white, but in swing states the proportion is much higher. For example, in Ohio, 65 percent of households receiving food stamps are white. Nationally, 42 percent of Medicaid recipients are non-Hispanic whites, but, in Ohio, the number is 61 percent.
If the facts don’t support an austerity agenda, what will they fall back on. As they always do. Krugman doesn’t say.
I will.
Race.
Fred Klonsky 
On the other hand, wouldn’t it move the ball forward a little if Obama actually did something? When was the last time that anyone saw him? More than 1,100 workers die in Bangla Desh in April in a condemned factory and Obama says nothing [or little, I’m not really sure]. That’s more than 1/3 of the World Trade Center on 9-11-01 and that was front page news for about 5 years. It kills me that Zimmerman/Martin is the only game in town.I thought that Obama came to Chicago because he saw some need here. The neighborhood a mile west of his house is the same, if not worse. C’mon man!
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One is operating under the illusion that governments run countries. 1,100 workers die in Bangla Desh in April and the papers are all about how American corporations are deciding how safe a workplace is going to be IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY and how much they are willing to spend to make it so. The key word is CORPORATION, forget American. A CORPORATION is superseding a sovereign country, Bangla Desh. It’s not just happening in countries like Bangla Desh CORPORATIONS are dictating our fracking, our farm industry etc. Why is our country allowing clothing in that is being made in countries where workers are being treated like shit? Because our country doesn’t make the rules CORPORATION do. And they are the ones that tell us we have to compete on a global market—translation—compete with workers that are treated like shit,. And to make sure you do let them come to this country and undercut wages. Zimmerman/Martin is the only game in town because the CORPORATIONS are the only ones reporting what is in town. To inform the general public that the poor people and working class are taking to the streets in reaction to the very same abuses of the people as we have here would only encourage civil involvement here. Any mass demonstrations that are reported are reported in terms other than the poor/working class dissatisfaction with the top .001%. No they are explained as religious or political (non-democratic) in origin. That we can accept, but not human dignity needs like a living wage, food, clean water etc. Maybe thats why the neighborhood is the same, because no matter where it is it is a place where the CORPORATIONS hold people while they squeeze out what little they have left.
Mr. Klonsky. Are you kidding me? Have you watched ANY of this trial??? Obviously not. You do a great disservice by posting a picture of a 12-year-old. Martin was nearly 6 feet tall, hardly the little boy being portrayed. Please remove me from your blog. Judging from this post you do not consider all angles before stating your opinion. Sad.
Sorry. I don’t bother going to the trouble of removing subscribers. You’ll just have to delete the email notice. I would like to point out the inconsistency of asking me to remove you as a subscriber because I don’t consider all angles before stating an opinion.
1) Zimmerman’s father is a retired Florida judge.
2) Martin and his parents are black and unconnected.
3) “Stand Your Ground” laws were created for this.
4) Zimmerman used a gun – an American God ordained weapon of choice.
End of story.
Name one Illinois retired judge’s kid who was convicted of anything serious. Illinois and Chicago don’t have a monopoly on clout.
Fred, I agree with you as I do the majority of the time.. Why? Because in my view, in my opinion, in my experience with you person to person and professionally speaking… you do look at all angles, consider all the facts (and lies). You are well read and stay abreast with the news and views. Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere. Today its them tomorrow its us!