"Don't Bring Skittles® to a Gunfight"

Too soon? Given the media circus surrounding this shooting, it's hard to tell. Did you know that there were 14,748 murders in the U S in 2010? The vast majority were either blacks killing blacks or whites killing whites. Whether or not the Martin shooting was justifiable in any way shape or form, the carnival like atmosphere that has surrounded the Trayvon Martin/ George Zimmerman incident is highly regrettable.

First, the reporting is abysmal. How many times were we shown a five year old photo of Trayvon Martin, looking like a fresh faced schoolboy of twelve. Once might have been because of a rush to get the story out. Continually showing the picture of an innocent 12 year old, was done to manipulate people's emotions...as if no one could be outraged over a seventeen year old being shot. Every time that five year old picture was shown, it was a lie of omission. All that was missing was a choir robe and a halo.

And the politics were shameful as well. Democrat congressmen wearing hoodies on the House floor, accusing Republicans of playing politics with the shooting. All the anti-second amendment types are trying to find some way to turn this to their advantage, and a President who doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut, meddling again in a local police matter where he doesn't have all the facts. Seems to be a habit with this one. "Hoodie rallies" filled with people who do not possess all the facts, "making a statement".

Trayvon's mother, who should be able to grieve over the loss of her son in peace, is beset by race hustlers and lawyers. I won't speculate what or who may have prompted her to try to trademark her son's name, but I can't say that greed on someone's part doesn't come to mind.

Then, there are the Spike Lee's and New Black Panthers of the world, calling for vigilante justice, offering bounties, without a single word of censure from the President, Attorney General, or the MSM in general.

There's no way this ought to have been a partisan issue. For what it's worth, Zimmerman is a registered Democrat. But it wasn't his party affiliation that pulled the trigger. It's first a question of whether or not a Hispanic man with a German name was justified in shooting a seventeen year old black youth and secondly, is there enough evidence to prosecute him? The President should have learned from his "the police acted stupidly" remarks, not to make any local crime a national issue.

But, obviously, this is a tragedy. I can only imagine what these parents are going through. And when I think about this boy, I think about my own kids. And, you know, I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this and that everybody pulls together -- federal, state and local -- to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened.

Every parent in America? Every aspect of an incident where we may never know all the facts? What makes this shooting different from thousands of others? What makes it different from the shooting of two young British tourists, whose parents sought a comment from the White House? The fact that that one was black on white violence? What's the matter, Mr. President? Did it not fit the narrative?

"federal, state and local -- to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened"

At the risk of being cynical, is it because this is an election year, and the president doesn't have a record to run on?Is it because the facts may never be known for certain, so that race baiting opportunists can shape the narrative to fit their agenda?

So I'm glad that not only is the Justice Department looking into it, I understand now that the governor of the state of Florida has formed a task force to investigate what's taking place. I think all of us have to do some soul-searching to figure out how does something like this happen. And that means that we examine the laws and the context for what happened, as well as the specifics of the incident. But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. And, you know, I think they are right to expect that all of us, as Americans, are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and that we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened

And after promising to be the post racial president, Obama tells us we need to "search our souls"? pardon me, but there is no soul searching required. Either the shooting was justified and all the race hustlers are seeking to persecute George Zimmerman solely on the basis of race, which they accuse him of, or the shooting was not justified and the local authorities should prosecute Zimmerman if they have the evidence to do so. And if the local authorities have need of state and federal resources, they should by all means ask for them. But, this should not be driven by a national agenda. Allowing local authorities to handle local crimes might free up federal authorities to investigate obvious voter intimidation at polling places or the murder of border patrol agents with guns provided to the drug cartels by agents of the US government?

Maybe President Obama should call the parents of the dead British tourists and the parents of the dead border patrol agent and call on all Americans to take that shooting "with the seriousness it deserves and...get to the bottom of exactly what happened", or do the victims simply don't look enough like they could be his son?

And while I hope that the Martin family finds some measure of peace and that justice may be both impartial and just, may I ask what ought to be a rather obvious question: Is there any reason why Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman should be judged on the color of their skin and not the content of their character? I didn't think so.