I’m not interested in playing detective and constructing a detailed picture of what really happened a month ago when George Zimmerman confronted and killed Trayvon Martin. There’s no way to know for sure, so I won’t bother.

But given the nation’s interest in the event, the accounts of friends, family and eyewitnesses play key roles in the perception of the tragedy. And after seeing the interview Zimmerman’s father Robert did with Orlando’s Fox 35, I can say this: this guy is full of it. I don’t believe a word he says.

The falsehoods started long before yesterday. In his letter to the Sanford community, Robert Zimmemran stated “At no time did George follow or confront Mr. Martin . .” But the released police tapes directly contradicted the assertion.

“Are you following him?” the dispatcher asked.

[George] Zimmerman replied: “Yep.”

“Okay, we don’t need you to do that,” the dispatcher warned.

In the interview, Robert offered a more detailed and ludicrous account of the tragedy.

[1:50] “He lost sight of the individual, he continued to walk down the same sidewalk to the next street, so he could get an address for the police. He went to the next street, realized where he was and was walking back to his vehicle. It’s my understanding, at that point, Trayvon Martin walked up to him, asked him, ‘Do you have a fucking problem?’ George said, ‘No, I don’t have a problem,’ and started to reach for his cell phone.”

So this is Robert’s account: George lost sight of the kid, decided to merely get a street address, did so, and then turned to leave. It was then that Trayvon emerged from the shadows to confront George. This re-tells Robert’s earlier assertion, that George never pursued Trayvon.

It’s a lie. On the police tapes, you hear George’s exasperation at maybe losing sight of Trayvon:

After discussing his location with the dispatcher, Zimmerman exclaimed, “Shit, he’s running,” and the following sounds suggest he left his vehicle to run after Martin.

“Are you following him?” the dispatcher asked. Zimmerman replied: “Yep.”

It makes you think the father isn’t even interested in the truth. It sounds as if Robert hasn’t heard the 911 tapes and doesn’t care. If so, that’s absurd — no one is going to buy his account over what they can hear for themselves. Now, the confrontation:

“At that point, he was punched in the nose, his nose was broken and he was knocked to the concrete. Trayvon Martin got on top of him and just started beating him. In the face. In his nose, hitting his head on the concrete.”

This would be a violent, unprovoked attack. And a broken nose is a nasty, painful, often bloody injury. But here George is in the police station, just an hour or so later:

Where’s the blood? Where are the telltale signs of a broken nose, the black eyes? Where are the bruises and scrapes to the back of George’s head? They aren’t there. The video completely contradicts Robert’s version of the confrontation.

Last, and this is the worst:

“After nearly a minute of being beaten, George was trying to get his head off the concrete, trying to move with Trayvon on him, in the grass. In doing so, his firearm was shown. Trayvon Martin said something to the effect of, ‘You’re going to die now,’ or ‘You’re going to die tonight’ or something to that effect . .”

That is pathetic. No young man in a blind violent rage sees a gun on the guy he’s furiously beating and does nothing about it. Except in Robert’s B-movie world. There, the teen is inspired by seeing George’s 9mm to say ‘You’re going to die now.’ Followed, we assume, by ‘Wait, are you pulling your gun out?’ And ‘Holy smokes, you’re shooting me to death.’ Only a fool would buy this crap.

Shockingly, Robert’s professional background is in the law. Of all things, he’s a judge. He’s apparently hoping he can foist preposterous hearsay upon us and save his boy. If so, he must have been a real sucker behind the bench. Robert is by far the least credible person who’s offered an account of that terrible night.

This is how a top-notch SWAT team works? I doubt it.

I’ve been watching this clip for two days now. Or, I should say, I’ve been watching the reaction to this clip’s You Tube posting for two days now, but there’s no protest that it’s false. So I’ll post it. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that this really is helmet cam video of Guerena’s death.

The local high-school basketball team is better prepared than these Tucson SWAT fools. And we give them rifles, let them break down our doors? Wow.

On the morning of May 5th, a Tucson-based SWAT team, attempting to serve a search warrant, approached the southwest-side home where Jose and Vanessa Guerena lived. Moments later, after firing at Jose 71 times through the door of his home, he lay dying.

Jose Guerena was not named on the search warrant, not known to be a suspect in any crime, and not committing any crime when he was shot. He was a Marine, with no criminal record, who served two tours of duty in Iraq. The controversial shooting and violent death of the family man and war veteran have caused a considerable controversy in Tucson.

How did this happen? Why was Jose targeted? Why did no one let paramedics attend to him after he was shot?

The lawyer hired by the 5 SWAT team shooters has taken the offensive against the confusion and sympathy local Arizona communities have felt over the shooting and for the Guerenas. Michael Storie has decided that everyone better know that Jose Guerena was a bad guy.

Ignoring his good reputation, Storie has done his best to lay the blame for Jose’s death at Jose’s feet.

The man shot and killed by Pima County SWAT officers was linked to a home-invasion crew, the attorney representing the officers said Thursday.

Michael Storie said authorities found rifles, hand guns, body armor and a portion of a law enforcement uniform inside the house where Jose Guerena was shot by officers serving a search warrant May 5.

This is a new story. Originally, law enforcement said the Guerena home was targeted as part of a group of drug-related search warrants.

“Everything they think they’re going to find in there they find,” said Storie in a news conference called a day after the Sheriff’s Department complained media reports on the incident spread misinformation and encouraged speculation about events surrounding the shooting.

Storie seems to be saying everything went as expected. While it’s entirely possible Jose was part of a home invasion crew, friends and family are shocked by the idea. Jose was awakened by SWAT after coming home from a 12 hour shift working at a copper mine.

The five officers had “no choice but to shoot” when they breached the front door of the house in the 7100 block of South Redwater Drive and saw Guerena holding a rifle, Storie said.

Does a SWAT team have to shoot anyone they terrify? Kill anyone who grabs a gun because they think they’re about to get killed?

According to the SWAT members’ statements all law enforcement vehicles approaching Guerena’s home had lights and sirens on and parked in the driveway, Storie said.

Guerena’s wife, Vanessa Guerena, who was inside the house with their 4-year-old son, has said she did not see or hear lights and sirens and that Guerena thought they were being targeted for a home invasion, which is why her husband grabbed his AR-15 rifle and told her and their son to hide in a closet.

And do people who fear for their lives, awakened from a deep sleep, act like B-movie characters?

One officer began shooting after Guerena placed the rifle in front of him and said “I’ve got something for you, I’ve got something for you guys,” Storie said.

You can see what Storie is doing here. But it’s a dangerous game. He could be permanently disgracing the good name of a war veteran who was only protecting his family. Anything else, Mr. SWAT Attorney?

A portrait of Jesus Malverde, believed to be a “narco saint,” was found under Guerena’s bed, Storie said.

Great. If it turns out Jose Guerena was everything he appeared to be, a good American gunned down in his home for no reason, Arizona will want to hang your hide, counselor.

Some time around 9:30 on the morning of May 5th, a Pima County, Arizona, SWAT team descended upon Iraq veteran Jose Guerena’s home to serve a search warrant. Vanessa Guerena, seeing armed men approaching the home and fearing a home invasion robbery, shouted to alert a sleeping Jose. Jose got up, armed himself with an assault rifle, and told Vanessa to take their son and get in the closet.

The SWAT team broke down the door and, looking inside, saw Jose standing with an AR-15 rifle. Firing through the open door 71 times, striking Guerena 60 times, they killed him. The SWAT team pulled back and made no attempt to treat Jose for over an hour as he bled to death.

How is it that a SWAT team can shoot and kill someone previously unknown to law enforcement, committing no crime, inside his own home? How can they do this even before setting foot inside the house, before presenting the search warrant to its occupants? Why do authorities’ explanations for Jose’s death continue to change?

The killing of Jose Guerena may have been a case of “death by address.” In a tragedy where lazy police work meets tactical overkill, police may have shot and killed Guerena because they loosely associated his house with criminality.

The house was targeted as part of an investigation into home invasions and drug rip-offs. The Guerena house was among homes that “were identified as locations where these activities were being carried out from.” . .

The search warrant was not directed at any particular person, and Guerena’s name was not mentioned, but it was targeting whoever might be inside the residence, [SWAT attorney Michael] Storie said . .

According to Storie, several days before the shooting undercover officers in an unmarked car drove by Guerena’s home to do surveillance, and 10 minutes after they drove by, they were alerted that their license plate had been run through the Motor Vehicle Division by someone they say followed the unmarked vehicle from Guerena’s home. That was considered countersurveillance on law enforcement, Storie said.

So, though suspicious of whoever lived there, the Pima County SWAT team apparently knew nothing about Jose Guerena. They had no idea if he’d ever committed a crime, they had no evidence for or against his being a criminal. They didn’t even apparently know that someone named Jose Guerena lived at the place they were about to roust. Jose, by contrast, was a Marine who had served two tours of duty in Iraq and had no criminal record. He’d been sleeping that morning after working the graveyard shift at a copper mine.

Still, law enforcement were suspicious enough of the home in which Jose lived to get a search warrant. The gauzy case of lawbreaking probably generated a tragedy when officials thought Jose’s address was dangerous enough to warrant the use of a SWAT team.

That assault team, trained to think they’re confronting the most violent, most dangerous felons, descended upon Jose and Vanessa Guerena. The Guerenas thought they were being attacked by home invasion robbers. Instead, it was law enforcement that shot Jose 60 times from outside his house, through the door they broke open.

And if it doesn’t bother you that local police will, standing on your porch, shoot you inside your home without ever knowing anything about you, it certainly should.

On the morning of May 5th, a Tucson, Arizona, SWAT team descended upon Iraq veteran Jose Guerena’s home to serve a search warrant. Immediately after breaking down the door, they saw Jose standing with an AR-15 assault rifle and shot him 60 times. Even though paramedics arrived on scene, police refused Jose medical treatment for over an hour and ten minutes. Jose Guerena bled to death, alone, inside the home he thought he was protecting from invasion robbers. Pima County law enforcement has yet to come up with a credible story to explain why they blasted a war veteran guilty of nothing, breaking no laws, inside his own home. Whatever excuses they offer constantly change.

Jose shot at us:

At first the Pima County Sheriff’s Office said that Guerena fired first . .

Or . . not:

. . but on Wednesday officials backtracked and said he had not. “The safety was on and he could not fire,” according to the sheriff’s statement.

While PCSD initially claimed Guerena fired the weapon he was alleged to have been holding, the department now says it was a misfire by one of the deputies that caused this deadly group panic inside a home containing a woman and a toddler:

A deputy’s bullet struck the side of the doorway, causing chips of wood to fall on his shield. That prompted some members of the team to think the deputy had been shot, [PCSD spokesman Michael] O’Connor said.

Jose was a drug dealer:

The May 5 shooting lasted only ten seconds. SWAT burst into a Tucson man’s home on a drug search warrant, fired more than 70 rounds, and left the Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran lying on the floor, fighting for his life. Guerena’s wife, Vanessa, emerged from the closet she was hiding in with her young son and called for help. She was left alone in the house with her dying husband . .

Or . . not:

The man shot and killed by Pima County SWAT officers was linked to a home-invasion crew, the attorney representing the officers said Thursday.

Attorney Michael Storie said authorities found rifles, handguns, body armor and a portion of a law-enforcement uniform inside the house where Jose Guerena was shot by officers serving a search warrant May 5.

“Everything they think they’re going to find in there they find,” Storie said . .

Jose was Tony Montana:

One officer began shooting after Guerena placed the rifle in front of him and said “I’ve got something for you, I’ve got something for you guys,” Storie said.

The other officers at the front door of the house, also fired striking Guerena.

Storie has revived the detail that Guerena shouted “I’ve got something for you, I’ve got something for you guys” before he was shot . .

Or . . please. We’re not stupid.

The cops approached with lights and sirens blazing:

According to the SWAT members’ statements all law enforcement vehicles approaching Guerena’s home had lights and sirens on and parked in the driveway, Storie said.

. . which, of course, terrified the Guerenas into fearing they were about to get hit by home invasion robbers?

Guerena’s wife, Vanessa Guerena, who was inside the house with their 4-year-old son, has said she did not see or hear lights and sirens and that Guerena thought they were being targeted for a home invasion, which is why her husband grabbed his AR-15 rifle and told her and their son to hide in a closet.

Whenever I hear sirens outside my home at 9:30 in the morning, I think “Here come robbers.” And when I hear silence but see people with assault weapons on my lawn, I think, “The police are here. I should open my door and talk to them.”

After Jose was shot 60 times, he ran away and hid in another room. That’s why SWAT cops figured it was a stand off and didn’t call an ambulance:

When asked why SWAT members did not rush in to render medical aid to Guerena, Storie said officers on scene “have to assume that there are other people with guns and that there are other people with body armor inside the residence.”

He said officers could not conclude Guerena was incapacitated because he fell into a room after he was shot and officers could not see him from the doorway.

Or . . not:

Based on a photograph of a large bloodstain inside the home, Scileppi said, Guerena fell down in clear view of the front door and officers could see him.

At some point, will SWAT team members get rushed to the hospital? Will Jose Guerena attack from the grave?

A note of apology to readers
Richard L.Connor | Editor and Publisher

We made a news decision on Friday that offended many readers and we sincerely apologize for it . .

Why did the paper’s publisher need to “sincerely apologize for it” ? Hell, I don’t know.

Many saw Saturday’s front-page story and photo regarding the local observance of the end of Ramadan as offensive, particularly on the day, September 11, when our nation and the world were paying tribute to those who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks nine years ago.

The whole thing is senseless and certainly un-journalistic. You could guess they’re apologizing because the story featured Muslims and is therefore insulting. But the guy who runs the paper would qualify as a caustic racist, right? Nonetheless, when he’s troubled enough by sensible readers’ reactions to acknowledge “the local observance of the end of Ramadan as offensive,” one wonders. He accepts that the mistake got compounded by the piece’s running “particularly on the day, September 11 . .”.

Unbelievable. This ain’t your father’s journalism. Actually, c’mon — this ain’t journalism. This is Fox News. This is populist commerce, fast food, internet porn. This is reductio ad service industry.

What — did I screw up your order? Did I forget to put the extra Zwizz-Cheeze on your Double Down? Please accept my humble apologies, might I offer you an Xxtreme Apple Chipotle Neutron Blast as a token of my sincerity?

If you think I’m being over the top, try this: the Portland Press-Herald humbly apologizing to their victims on Facebook . .

. . because when you run a big, fat news outlet, regular folk should make the decisions for you. After all, what the hell do you really know? Sure, you’ve got some university degrees in journalism and 732 bylines, but these people . . they have Facebook accounts:

Sorry, Jean! We’ll never do that again. “We should have balanced the story” with another one, er, not about Muslims? Or one that depicted Muslims in a non-normal, non-civilized light? Y’know, a story that matches your conveniently nasty, pre-conceived notions of a billion people stretched across 200 countries? Mmm, I smell customer satisfaction.

Wait — was that a story on the Japanese economy I spied on the PPH front page last December 7th? Were those pictures of the Cleveland Indians I saw on June 25th? Little Big Horn, fucking traitors, nice paper.

Hey, is that a story on Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano? Jesus, my ex-girlfriend’s name is Janet. I hate Janet.

Laredo, Texas, wiped off the map by a Mexican drug cartel! Ranchers dragged out of their homes! Shot! Slugged! Slapped! Gutted and wrapped in foil! Grilled with salt and lemon!

Digger’s Realm
BREAKING: Multiple Ranches In Laredo, TX Taken Over By Los Zetas
By Digger / July 24, 2010 04:11 AM

The bloodbath continues along our southern border and now word is coming in that Los Zetas, the highly trained killers formerly with the Gulf Cartel, have crossed into the United States and taken over at least two ranches in the Laredo, Texas area. I am receiving word that the owners of the ranches have evacuated without being harmed. The source is law enforcement in the area.

(Update 2 story is now 100% confirmed by second source within the Laredo Police Department)

Founder of the San Diego Minutemen Jeff Schwilk tipped me off to this story and passes along the following information on the location. The ranches are said to be “near Mines Rd. and Minerales Annex Rd about 10 miles NW of I-35″.

I’m sure the Minutemen aren’t given to panic! Especially over incendiary stories about border violence! By all means, let’s listen to an honest man like Jeff!

There is currently a standoff between the unknown size Zeta forces and U.S. Border Patrol and local law enforcement on two ranches on our side of the Rio Grande. The source tells us he considers this an “act of war” and that the military is needed on the border now!

AAAAUUUGGHHH! I’M SCARED! AND PATRIOTIC!

Anonymous sources in law enforcement in the Laredo area tonight have passed on word that US law enforcement agencies are in the area and are weighing their options regarding the ranches.

THEY”RE SCARED TOO! YIKES! GOD BLESS AMERICA!

The media has been silent on this incident and some law enforcement in the area says that they are furious that the media is not reporting the whole story of the continued violence along the border. Their frustrations are understandable because keeping the truth suppressed continues to hamper law enforcement from receiving the true support they need along the border.

TRUTH COMING! HELP ON THE WAY! YOU PEOPLE ARE MORONS!

“Starting to smell like a hoax.”

*sniff* *sniff* I don’t smell anything.

As far as a hoax, that is a willfully done falsity. Why would I sacrifice my 8 year old website and any benefit I can provide the issue I have dedicated my life to on a fake story?

SEE ABOVE!

As for the mud slinging, sling away. I have put my name on the line, you have put an anonymous moniker on the line. As a reader I would put my faith in the veteran blogger of 8 years, with a proven track record, rather than some commenter who just showed up a few hours ago.

I stand by the story. You obviously have not read what a media blackout entails.

WHAT? IT’S A BLACK OUT! IT’S BLACKED OUT!

Here is another source claiming that authorities in Laredo will not confirm or deny.

VERY BLACK! GOOD REPORTING!

Hector Garcia , a city council member of the City of Laredo TX, has returned my phone call and aboslutely denied that any armed conflict has occured with the Laredo PD. He is quoting the Chief of Police, Carlos Maldonado. Mr Garcia went on to say that it appears two ranchers had a disagreement.

I STILL SAY SOMETHING”S WRONG!

Is this really happening? Probably not (despite the upsurge in violence just over the border), but what’s even scarier than the heavily armed Zetas is that stories like this have become difficult to confirm or refute.

WHY DIDN”T WE KNOW? IT’S SO FISHY! I AM SCARED AGAIN!

We know that the establishment media places supporting Obama far ahead of informing the public. But as for whether a blanket of silence has been thrown over a military incursion — in the short term, we can only guess.

UNLESS THEY BLACK OUT THE BLACK OUT! THEN WE’LL NEVER KNOW! EXCEPT FOR I JUST MENTIONED IT! HOLY CRAP, I JUST BEAT THE BLACK OUT! WELL TECHNICALLY IT’S THE ‘BLACK OUT’ BLACK OOT! WHOA LOOK AT THAT TYPO! STARTING TO FREAK HERE! I KNEW — wait, now it’s a ‘military incursion’?

In a totalitarian state, rumors supplant news. We’re not there yet, but we can see it from here.

WE MADE IT UP! THAT PROVES OBAMA’S A FASCIST! IMPEACHMENT!

The balloon happened to get away, maybe the kid was in it? Okay, call out the helicopters, whatever. It comes down, no boy inside? Well, fine, there’s no story. Absolutely no news. False alarm, nothing to report.

Like ‘man aboard boat hears splash, jumps in water to save girlfriend.’ No, she didn’t fall in? Then why the hell is it the lead story on every single national news outlet? National entertainment, that’s why.

The kid even confesses “…you guys said…that, ummm…we did this for the show…”, and the sudden truth doesn’t mean a goddamned thing to Wolf Blitzer. Because it doesn’t matter why it happened, it only matters that Blitzer got the money interview:

You think that now your kid is totally overwrought, puking on camera, that maybe you should shut the hoax down? Of course not, you may never get a second shot at so many pigeons:

What loving, caring parents. Meredith Vieira, for godssakes, will stop the interview before the Heenes will.

Richard Heene’s Aquaintances Say They Think Balloon Boy Incident May Have Been A Hoax

Friends and former colleagues of Richard Heene, the father of Falcon Heene, are beginning to publicly doubt Heene’s accounts of the “Balloon Boy” incident.

On Good Morning America Friday morning, Scott Stevens, who used to work with Richard Heene as a storm chaser before he quit due to disagreements over whether Heene should bring his family on missions, described his former partner as a “schemer.” He told ABC’s Robin Roberts the following:

“I believe that Richard had a plan to send this craft aloft,” said Scott Stevens, who used to work as a “storm chaser” with Heene. “Whether it was to leave the illusion that there was a boy on board, I don’t know. [But] I believe it was a premeditated launch.”

And just how does anyone climb inside a completely closed balloon ‘craft’?

It’s incredibly shocking that anyone fell for this. Our news media are a willingly, wantonly moronic bunch of airtime-gobbling zombies. That’s the story.