The only thing George Zimmerman didn’t do is play lacrosse.

Vultures fly in to feast on the carcass of Trayvon Martin.

Neighborhood Watch celebrity George Zimmerman graduated from a high school not too far from where I live in Virginia. I certainly hope he made it to the 10–year reunion of the Osbourn Park Class of 2001, because it doesn’t look like he’s going to be attending many in the future.

Not that Zimmerman is necessarily guilty of anything, but after one has been processed by the MSM’s reputation shredder, the thought of appearing in public and defending yourself for the umpteenth time is not appealing.

Particularly when the President joins the race–baiters and says, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” Well, Mr. President, if your mother had married a Mexican instead of a Kenyan you would have looked like George. So what?

If only Zimmerman — a Spanish speaker registered as a Democrat — had been marching in a La Raza protest or a Mexicans Without Borders demonstration. Then national Democrats, including the President, would be happy to claim him as their own. But when George made the mistake of getting a concealed carry permit and dabbled on the fringes of law enforcement, Zimmerman became a “white Hispanic” member of the conspiracy designed to keep the black man down.

Why couldn’t Zimmerman have been like those progressive employees at the Apple store in Bethesda, MD. When they heard a woman screaming in the yoga store next door, they had the decency to mind their own dang business. You didn’t see them barging in on what might have been a private matter. They didn’t even tie up valuable public resources by calling 9–1–1.

Wait, maybe that’s a bad example. Jayna Murray died after being stabbed 330 times.

In Zimmerman’s case, there actually was crime in the area he volunteered to patrol. Police records show there were eight burglaries, nine thefts and one shooting in the prior year. Cynthia Wibker, secretary of the homeowner’s association, observed, “He once caught a thief and an arrest was made. (Zimmerman) helped solve a lot of crimes.”

A rule of thumb to remember in these “white Hispanic” vs. black controversies is the first lawyer to get in front of a TV camera is lying. Benjamin Crump and Natalie Jackson, the Martin legal brain trust, prove my point.

Begin with the photo of an angelic Trayvon wearing a red shirt. It’s a great picture, but he was 14 when it was taken. Trayvon was 17 when he was shot, almost 6’ 3” tall and weighed about 150 lbs. He also boasted tattoos, a gold mouth grill and went by the Twitter ID of “@NO_LIMIT_NIGGA.”

Martin was in the neighborhood visiting his father because he was serving his third suspension from high school. This time for possession of a marijuana pipe and an empty baggie with traces of drugs. In October, Martin had been found with 12 pieces of women’s jewelry and a “burglary tool,” but was suspended for a graffiti offense.

Once this information came to light, Martin’s mother complained, “They killed my son and now their trying to kill his reputation.” Which means it’s okay to demonize Zimmerman, but Trayvon should remain beyond reproach.

In lie number two, Crump declares, “We have to maintain over and over and over again that Zimmerman is the aggressor.”

George may have been an annoying busy–body, but he was not the aggressor. Zimmerman left his SUV to follow Martin on foot, but lost sight of him. George had turned around and was walking back to his vehicle when Trayvon sucker–punched him, breaking his nose and knocking him down. Martin jumped on top of Zimmerman and began smashing his head into the sidewalk.

During the assault there was a struggle over the gun holstered at Zimmerman’s waist and Martin was shot and killed.

This brings us to lies three and four. Jackson says, “You hear a shot, a clear shot then you hear a 17-year-old boy begging for his life then you hear a second shot.” There was only one round fired and Martin wasn’t yelling for help either. He was too busy slamming Zimmerman’s head on the sidewalk, which produced a cut requiring stitches.

The person yelling for help was George.

Although the Martin legal team has proven they are quite capable of prevaricating on their own, they get help from the media. Early stories claimed the dispatcher told Zimmerman not to follow Martin. What he actually said was, “Okay, we don’t need you to do that.” This is not a command and barely qualifies as a suggestion, but that’s not how the story was covered.

Zimmerman, like the Duke lacrosse players, now has the media baying for his blood and as a result a majority of the public believes he should be arrested. But none of that changes the fact that if Trayvon Martin hadn’t punched George Zimmerman in the nose, he’d be alive today.

Preacher Goes Wild in Virginia Beach

First he endorses Rudy, now Pat Robertson is agreeing with liberal Democrats

Periodically there’s an eruption in Virginia Beach that catches us off guard. Much like a dormant volcano will occasionally demand attention, Pat Robertson grabs headlines by making an off–the–wall comment.

This doesn’t include predictable pronouncements regarding God’s wrath or the wages of sodomy. Everyone knows you can’t have a natural disaster without the Rev. Robertson piling on. What I’m referring to are non Jehovah–related eruptions.

Take Pat’s claim that he can leg press 2,000 lbs. — the equivalent of four Al Gore’s. Leg press involves letting a weighted sled slide down a 45–degree angle slope towards you. When your tibia and your femur reach a 90–degree angle, you contract your thigh muscles and push the sled back to the starting position.

There’s a YouTube video of Robertson “leg pressing” 1,000 lbs. Pat uses his hands to push his knees to full extension and the sled only comes down a few inches. I’ve seen my wife’s legs twitch more when I sneak into bed with cold hands. So it’s hardly a leg press and Pat’s certainly not moving a ton.

(There’s something about a leg press machine that invites hyperbole from political figures. Madeline Albright claims to have leg pressed 400 lbs., which is equally unlikely. Particularly when you consider they don’t even have a leg press machine at Minnieland Daycare, which is the only commercial establishment I can recall that would have equipment small enough to accommodate the diminutive former secretary of state.)

Robertson’s latest declaration is even more startling. In a New York Times interview, Pat calls for the legalization of marijuana, “I believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol. I’ve never used marijuana and I don’t intend to, but… this war on drugs just hasn’t succeeded.”

I could not have been more surprised if he’d said he was leaving his wife for Madeline Albright.

This puts Roberson in some strange company beginning with Del. David Englin (D–People’s Republic of Alexandria) who introduced a bill in the Virginia General Assembly to study how much money the state would make if wacky tobbacky was sold in ABC stores.

Englin is pro abortion, pro homosexual marriage and the founder of the “Progressive Caucus” in the Virginia House, while Robertson is; well he’s Pat Robertson. Still their herb views are remarkably concurrent. Both believe marijuana prohibition, like alcohol prohibition, is not working.

They have a point. Prohibition didn’t work in the 20’s and it doesn’t work today. Why do you think criminals are involved in growing marijuana and cocaine? Are they like liberal Democrats with their misty–eyed affinity for boutique farmers and 19^th Century agriculture?

No, they’re in it for the gusher of money. This tidal wave of government–caused wealth is undermining the foundations of Mexico and much of South America.

Without the money that prohibition produces, much of the drug–related crime would disappear. The worst thing that ever happened to the Mafia — if you don’t count the last episode of the Sopranos — was passage of the 21st Amendment.

If there was ever a conflict that required an exit strategy the War on Drugs is it. Afghanistan looks like May 7, 1945 compared to what has been accomplished fighting drugs.

The main objection to legalization is “more people will use drugs.” Frankly, I don’t know how that could be possible. All the evidence shows anyone who wants drugs can get drugs. At least legalization will confine the damage to the willing.

What’s more, the same laws that apply to smokin’ would also apply to tokin’. The only difference would be when striding through the cloud of smoke that obscures the entrance to your local shopping mall, you would feel strangely mellow and eager to find the food court.

Legalization would not eliminate drug testing as a condition of employment or penalties for drug use while operating a vehicle. Naturally advertising would be banned under a government monopoly and the packaging would have suitably scary photos, similar to those on cigarette packages, to discourage use. My suggestion would be Willie Nelson’s latest booking photo or any crowd shot from a Grateful Dead concert.

For years I’ve been in favor of legalizing drugs and limiting the sales to the post office. The USPS needs the money and since many postal employees are already armed, security costs would be low. But Englin’s idea to sell blunts at the ABC would work just as well and the employees are accustomed to checking ID.

The real irony is that if legalization ever occurs it will have been a combination of a liberal Democrat and a conservative preacher who made it absolutely impossible for Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell to privatize ABC stores.

Teachers Suffering from Memory Loss

All teachers are excellent, just ask one.

It’s been a busy week on the education front in Virginia. The General Assembly, concerned about academics and discipline, defeated the “Tebow” bill that would have allowed homeschoolers to try out for high school athletic teams.

And Assembly also defeated a tenure reform bill that would have made it easier to fire incompetent teachers mostly because of the fear that educators might be dismissed for personality conflicts with their boss. An outrageous state of affairs as former Washington Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth can personally attest.

So it was more than a little ironic when the day before local teachers were scheduled to hold a Saturday ‘grade–in’ at Wegmans grocery store to protest a budget that lacks a raise for next year; one of those homeschooled, academically–challenged, discipline problems the General Assembly is so worried about won the county spelling bee.

Lori Anne Madison took the crown at the 34^th annual bee by spelling “vaquero,” which is quite an accomplishment for a 6–year–old since the word is not even English.

(It also makes me wonder if spelling bees held in Mexico City ever ask anyone to spell “cowboy?”)

Meanwhile, back at Wegmans, public school teachers were grading papers and preparing lesson plans among the arugula to demonstrate to a cheap, penny–pinching public all the work they do outside the classroom.

As Jim Livingston, a board member of the Prince William Education Assn. said, “The grade–in is designed so that the public can see that there is a lot more in the daily life of a professional educator than just 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., or 7 to 2.”

Livingston had also better hope the public doesn’t do the math, because both of those number sets only add up to a seven–hour work day (including lunch), which is at least an hour shorter than the work day of most taxpayers.

In addition to grading papers by the light reflected off the sneeze guards, county teachers are also “working to rule,” which means they will no longer come in early to help students or stay after school for extracurricular activities unless they are paid for the extra time.

This labor action only serves to prove teacher’s memories are as short as that of their students.

Let’s step outside the ivory tower of academia and examine what’s been going on in what I call Taxpayer World. Nationally unemployment for taxpayers is between 8 and 9 percent, unless you count those who have given up looking for work entirely, which puts the figure in double digits.

During the past four years approximately 300,000 public school employees lost their jobs outside of Prince William County where I live and, according to school board Chairman Milton C. Johns, those jobs are not coming back.

Yet here not one school employee lost their job or was forced to take an unpaid furlough. What’s more, last year when county government employees took a 5 percent hit in their paycheck to cover costs passed down to the local level from the state, teachers did not lose a penny and were even given a small bonus that did not affect their base pay. But somehow being sheltered from a recession that’s hammering taxpayers — no layoffs, no furloughs, no pay cuts and a one–time bonus — equals unhappiness.

It also indicates students aren’t the only ones with unrealistically high self–esteem.

Chairman Johns solution to this impasse is to give the school board taxing authority. This would be like putting beavers in charge of the dam–building budget. Right now a disgruntled school board gets 56.75 percent of the county’s general revenue, which is more than in Fairfax County, Alexandria, Arlington County and Loudoun County.

Prince William spent $12,650 per student in 2009 and 85 percent of that expenditure goes to personnel costs. In the state as a whole, between 2002 and 2009 per–pupil spending increased 44 percent.

So don’t talk to me about cuts in education spending. Teachers refer to themselves as “professionals” yet they cling to an assembly–line compensation regime and refuse to accept professional responsibility or establish measurable benchmarks for student’s education.

In keeping with my family’s innate sense of bad timing, my son has finally decided grades are important during a year in which teachers work–to–rule. Fortunately, the teacher in the class where he as the most trouble continues to stay after school to work with him and consequently his grade is improving.

She certainly deserves a raise. On the other hand, the middle school math teacher who decided to essentially retire during the school year instead of waiting for June deserved to be fired.

My advice for teachers is if you want to be paid like professionals, agree to be evaluated individually just like professionals.

Democrats vote to keep a minority in the shadows

Stuck on society’s margins by Democrat politicians.

There is an underground society in today’s America. These invisible people pay taxes just like the rest of us, but are ostracized because of their background. The promise of America is denied them.  Instead they lead a clannish, insular existence, suspicious of the authorities and on the fringes of mainstream life.

Often driving by some remote area, you may catch a glimpse of them playing soccer on dusty, over–used public fields, far away from well–groomed high school athletic facilities.

But in spite of being marginalized by a judgmental, intolerant society, they never lost hope. They believed in working through the system for justice. And finally, there came a chance to emerge from the shadows — a golden opportunity to finally join the rest of America and enjoy the rights of a full–fledged citizen.

But an 8–7 block vote by Democrats in a Virginia Senate committee defeated the “Tebow” bill and again denied homeschooled children the chance to try out for high school football and other athletic teams.

Sen. Harry B. Blevins (R–Virginia Education Association), a former cog in the education–industrial complex, was personally responsible for the tie–breaking vote that meant homeschooled children would be forced to play ballerina ball for yet another season.

Teacher’s association and Virginia sports league officials voiced two primary reasons for opposing the bill and, in keeping with typical Democrat discourse, both reasons were false. But these people will do or say anything to retain the government monopoly on indoctrinating children.

The first was public school students are subject to more stringent academic requirements than the homeschoolers. I know “football,” “stringent” and “academic” are not three words you normally encounter in the same sentence, but be that as it may, the facts are otherwise.

Homeschooled children are tested by the state every year and must meet set achievement levels. In fact, Progress Report 2009 — a study that surveyed 11,739 homeschooled students tested by 15 independent testing services — found that homeschooled students on the average scored 37 percentile points above public school students on standardized achievement tests.

Once they get to college homeschooled students have a better freshman GPA (3.41) than other freshmen (3.12) and graduate at higher rates.

The second objection was homeschooled students might represent potential discipline problems. This, too, is rich. Granted it was a long time ago, but every team I ever played on had a coach and if the coach didn’t like your attitude you were not a member of the team for long.

Democrats who voted against the bill no doubt wondered why Virginia homeschooled children can’t act like those quaint Amish folks: stay out of the limelight, avoid fossil fuels and make sustainable furniture.

The only bright spot in the entire debate was, for possibly the first time in history, a leader of the Democrat party went on record stating the choices people make have consequences with which they must be prepared to live. Senate Minority Leader Richard Saslaw declared, “Every single parent who chooses to home-school their kid knows what the ground rules are. Parents know that choice, and they know what the ramifications are.”

This will be a real news bulletin to liberal protected groups like Occupy, unwed mothers, illegal aliens, foreclosed homeowners, drug addicts and the homeless.

But Saslaw has not entirely joined the Personal Responsibility Caucus. He also said if the bill passed it would not be the end of demands. “It’s the camel’s nose under the tent,” he claimed. This indicates confusion on Saslaw’s part. Homeschooling advocates weren’t asking for player quotas to be established — the standard liberal Democrat remedy — they only wanted the opportunity to compete.

If the youngster isn’t good enough, he doesn’t make the team. Unless, of course, the coach wants to stash a couple of homeschoolers on the bench to raise the team’s overall GPA.

The education establishment views the homeschooling movement as a mortal threat. If Ma and Pa Kettle spend only $500 per year and produce students who, on the average, outscore public school students supported by nearly $10,000 each year — including money from homeschooling parents — sooner or later taxpayers may start asking pointed questions.

Besides, just because a family buys a few books for their own home the authorities can’t ban them from public libraries. The same principle should apply to high school athletics.

In the last week we’ve seen Democrats all over the country support Sandra Fluke — Queen of the Prophylactic — and her desire to play footsie on the taxpayer dime. It seems only fair that homeschooled children be allowed to play football on the taxpayer’s teams.

Smile, you’re on vaginal camera

Virginia Republican leaders have given comedian Jon Stewart veto power over controversial legislation.

Virginia Senate Democrats are still complaining about their loss of power after last year’s election resulted in a 20 to 20 tie. This gave control to Republicans since Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling casts the tie–breaking vote.

Even in their reduced circumstances, Democrats can take solace in the fact a vote of the people forced them to relinquish power. Compare that with Virginia’s Republican leadership that has given veto power over controversial legislation to an unelected comedian.

Jon Stewart has never been on a Virginia ballot, yet the host of ‘The Daily Show’ had the power to kill the initial ultrasound bill deader than a “clump of cells” at a Planned Parenthood clinic.

The nefarious ultrasound bill was designed to put a human face, so to speak, on the receiving party of an abortion. The law Stewart vetoed would have required doctors to inform women they had the right to view an ultrasound image of the unborn child prior to terminating its life. This seems only fair. Frequently in capital murder cases the defendant is allowed to make a final plea before judgment is passed. Why not allow an unborn child to make a silent plea for its life before the abortion is carried out?

It was assumed the ultrasound would be the “jelly on the belly” procedure where the nurse spreads a lubricant on the woman’s abdomen and rubs an ultrasound wand over the surface.

If the bill had passed, Virginia would have joined seven other states that avoided attracting the attention of comedians and passed bills requiring an ultrasound before an abortion.

GOP leadership started running for cover when they learned that during the first four to eight weeks of pregnancy jelly–on–belly often doesn’t produce a useable image. Instead what doctor’s refer to as a “transvaginal ultrasound” and Democrats tastefully describe as “state sponsored rape” is required. Without getting into the roto–rooter details, the transvaginal spends a lot more time inside a woman’s plumbing than Republican leaders are comfortable with.

Naturally pro–death Democrats and their media enablers accused Republicans of violating the doctor–patient relationship and the woman’s body. But the fact is 98 percent of early abortions already involve a transvaginal ultrasound ordered by the doctor. Republicans aren’t demanding a second probe, their bill simply gave the woman the right view the image that the abortionist produced to cover himself for malpractice purposes.

For Democrats it’s all a matter of context. Ultrasounds for more efficient abortions are science. But if you want the ultrasound to help preserve the baby, keep your rosaries off my ovaries!

But Democrats in a sexual frenzy are not typically subject to coherent thought. Yesterday, when an amended bill passed that removed any chance the GOP could be blamed for transvaginal ultrasounds that were already taking place, Sen. Louise Lucas (D–Pelvis) thundered, “Women who want to have abortions will go to back alleys. Women will die. They are not going to let you tell them what to do with their bodies!”

That makes perfect sense. Rather than look at an ultrasound that Planned Parenthood is already performing, women are going to opt instead for that nice man with the coat hanger waiting behind the tattoo parlor.

Aren’t Democrats supposed to be the party that encourages civility? It might help the abortion debate if we paid more attention to people who actually had some knowledge of the procedure and less to hysterics. My recommendation is limit interviews to people who have personal experience with one of the two procedures. Pro–life supporters must have participated in delivering a baby. “Choice” supporters must have been part of an abortion. What’s more, I’m flexible on extent of participation. For men, starting the ball rolling on a pregnancy won’t count, but carrying “tissue” to the dumpster will.

As for Republicans, they’ve managed to look as feckless in Virginia on the ultrasound bill as national Republicans did on the payroll tax cut bill. They should have either shown some backbone and kept the original or passed an amended bill that required the woman to listen to the baby’s heartbeat, which is detectable after only 18 days.

It’s uncertain whether Chief Comedian Stewart will weigh in on the Commonwealth’s budget impasse, but here’s an idea. It’s seems Verizon FiOS is dropping ‘Bridges TV’ from its lineup. The network was founded to “dispel negative stereotypes about Muslims” but has had trouble attracting viewers since the network’s founder decapitated his wife in the Bridges TV office in 2009.

That’s a situation rich in irony, but something tells me Stewart wouldn’t touch it with a 10–foot vaginal probe.