100s Protest Zimmerman Verdict in San Francisco / Live Feed Chicago Protest

 USA Today, 12:26 a.m. EDT July 14, 2013 'System has failed': Crowds react to Zimmerman verdict

SANFORD, Fla. — Demonstrators exclaimed disbelief, one by one, as they learned on Saturday night that George Zimmerman was found not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin.
At 10:02 p.m. ET "Justice for Trayvon!" chants erupted from fist-waving people at the fountain across from the courthouse.
"The system has failed!" irate demonstrators started chanting.
The waiting game under way for the hundreds of protesters anticipating a verdict outside the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center was finally over. . . .
[Click to continue story at USA Today site.]

NBC Bay Area: July 14, 2013, 12:45 EDT

Local Activist Groups Protest Zimmerman Verdict

About 200 people protest in San Francisco following not-guilty verdict in George Zimmerman trial in Florida

[Click to continue story at NBC Bay Area site; photo above.]

The Grio: July 14, 2013: Chicagoans, Rev. Jesse Jackson react to Zimmerman not guilty verdict

 Birmingham News: July 13, 2013:

Occupy Wall Street live-streams Chicago march protesting Zimmerman verdict (live-streaming)

Bill Fletcher: July 14, 2013: Zimmerman and the hunting of Black Folks

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Benjamin Todd Jealous, NAACP Statement & Petition:

 

NAACP supporters,

A jury in Sanford, Florida has found George Zimmerman not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin.

I know I am not alone in my outrage, anger, and heartbreak over this decision. When a teenager's life is taken in cold blood, and there is no accountability for the man who killed him, nothing seems right in the world, but we cannot let these emotions alone rule.

In these most challenging of times, we are called to act. There is work left to be done to achieve justice for Trayvon. The Department of Justice can still address the violation of Trayvon's most fundamental civil right — the right to life, and we are urging them to do so.

Sign our petition to the Department of Justice. Tell them to file civil rights charges against George Zimmerman.

We continue to grieve the loss of Trayvon with his parents, his family, and all who loved him. Do not forget what brought us to this day.

George Zimmerman was arrested and charged because we would not back down when he was initially released. The Sanford Police Chief was removed from his post because we voiced our disbelief that he would overrule his detectives and block George Zimmerman's arrest.

And, perhaps most importantly, not a single state has passed a "stand your ground" law in 2013 — the first time in eight years — because we refuse to let the memory of Trayvon fade from the hearts and minds of America.

So, now we have a choice: We can be felled by our sorrows over the jury's decision, or we can turn our frustration into action. We can demand the Department of Justice address the travesties of this tragedy. We can take a step forward in our efforts to finally end racial profiling in America once and for all. What will you do, NAACP supporters?

For Trayvon Martin, for his family, and for all parents who suffer the horror of burying a child, sign our petition to the Department of Justice:

http://www.naacp.org/sign-the-DOJ-petition

Thank you,

Ben

Benjamin Todd Jealous
President and CEO
NAACP                           

NY Amsterdam News, July 14, 2013, 1:10 AM: Black community responds to acquittal of George Zimmerman

Michael Moore tweets:  https://mobile.twitter.com/MMFlint/status/356242431991234560

"Had a gun-toting Trayvon Martin stalked an unarmed George Zimmerman,
and then shot him to death... DO I EVEN NEED TO COMPLETE
THIS SENTENCE?" – Michael Moore 

Rev. Jackson: ‘Fiscal cliff’ scare just a fake crisis

From Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. of Rainbow PUSH Coalition:

‘Fiscal cliff’ scare just a fake crisis

BY JESSE JACKSON
November 19, 2012

Why do imaginary phantoms terrify, while real-life horrors seem normal? Why do our elected representatives act in ways that trample the values of those who elected them?

Consider the current debate in Washington. The city is in full uproar about the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the deep cuts in spending and hikes in taxes scheduled to take place at the end of the year. To listen to this debate, you would think the end of the world will come if Congress and the president don’t reach an agreement to cut Medicare and possibly Social Security and increase taxes over the next 10 years to avoid going over the cliff.

Don’t fall for the hype.

The fiscal cliff is not a product of nature. It is rather a dangerously foolish austerity bomb created by Congress in the debt-ceiling negotiations 18 months ago. Essentially, Congress is threatening to blow up the economy unless Congress agrees not to blow up the economy. The threat is used to extort agreements that would otherwise simply be unacceptable — such as cutting Medicare and Social Security, the basic pillars of family security.

And the supposed underlying threat of out-of-control deficits is equally imaginary. Deficits are down, as a percentage of the economy, by 25 percent since the depths of the Great Recession in 2009. They will continue to come down if the economy continues to grow. That is endangered not by homemade bombs, but by a world economy that is headed back toward recession. And growth is also endangered if Congress cuts deficits too rapidly by slashing spending and raising taxes — kneecaping an already-faltering recovery. Interest rates on U.S. Treasury notes are at near-record lows. Markets — investors — are telling us that the threat isn’t out-of-control deficits and inflation; the threat is slow growth or worse.

While everyone is in hysteria about phantoms, the real horrors are ignored. Record numbers of Americans have already gone over the cliff with no help in sight. More than 20 million people are in need of full-time work, and Washington is focused on cutting deficits, not creating jobs. Poverty is at near-record levels and inequality at new extremes, and Washington is talking about cutting programs for the vulnerable. Racial and gender inequity still throws hurdles in front of a majority of the country, but isn’t on the agenda. Violence still haunts our streets, but receives no attention.

These things are real, not imaginary. They exist now, not as phantom fears. And they cost big-time.

Poverty costs in dreams crushed, hopes stunted, lives lost. It costs more to live in poverty. Food is more expensive, transportation is harder, illness is unaffordable. The loss of a job, the theft of a paycheck, the illness of a child can sink a family struggling to stay afloat.

Poverty, violence, and racial and gender inequities also cost the country big-time. We won’t put up with mass starvation. The unemployed collect food stamps; the employed pay taxes. This country will pay big-time for a generation raised in poverty on mean streets.

We need action on jobs, a plan to put people to work. We need action on inequality, a plan to ensure that workers share in the profits they help to create. We need action on racial and gender discrimination, so that equal opportunity is more than a slogan. We need action on poverty and hunger, so that every child has the opportunity to soar.

These are real-world challenges that cannot be ignored because of congressionally invented phantoms.

Keep up with Rev. Jackson and the work of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition at www.rainbowpush.org.