Of course, George Zimmerman, the cop- or security guard-wannabe, was no trained commando. Who said he was?

Zimmerman heads to court

It is to HLN’s credit that coverage of Zimmerman’s trial for shooting the unarmed Trayvon Martin can roll nearly full-footage. A relatively unfiltered perspective on what happens in the courtroom is a less accurate view than from inside the room, but it’s the next best thing.

Still, some byways of the over-all presentation in the trial come as a surprise. Or perhaps ‘smokescreen’ would be a better term.

Not to sound too harsh, but a pudgy guy can shoot a gun.

A pudgy, out of shape, overweight, soft, flabby martial-arts wannabe can both carry a gun–regrettably–and shoot one.

It is to be hoped that the defense in the Zimmerman case is not putting up a straw man, that is, knocking down the notion that Zimmerman was some kind of Michael Westen type–when no objective observer would argue either 1) that he was; or 2) that he needed to be.

I am all in favor of getting in shape. But exercising is neither necessary nor sufficient to turn somebody into a shooter.

Is a red herring alert needed?

On other matters touched on in the trial, I continue to believe that it was Trayvon Martin whose screams were caught on the painful tape recording. The voice was a teen’s. Unlike some other commentators, I don’t think it’s too close to call.

Defense does not seem to be unduly concerned with appealing to the jurors’ intelligence.

btw Michael Westen, of Burn Notice fame, is a fictional character.