memeorandum: New Trayvon Martin Twist: Anonymous Witness Reportedly Tells Police Martin Attacked Zimmerman (Joe Gandelman/The Moderate Voice)

7:45 PM ET, March 24, 2012

Top Items:

Now witness claims TRAYVON attacked Zimmerman: Anonymous onlooker told police neighbourhood watch captain was provoked... as friends insist teen was not violent and protests mount — Trayvon Martin may have attacked a Neighborhood Watch captain before the man shot dead the unarmed teen …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, protein wisdom, Washington Monthly, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Balloon Juice, Instapundit, American Power, Riehl World View, Wake up America and Hot Air

Charles Johnson / Little Green Footballs:

Wingnut Conspiracy Theory of the Day: Trayvon Photo Was Lightened to Make Him Look ‘Innocent’ — DERPToday's loony wingnut conspiracy theory comes from Breitbart.com blogger Dan Riehl, who has yet another BOMBSHELL REVELATION to report: As Media Reports Conflict, Why Was Trayvon Martin Photo Altered?

Discussion: The Impolitic and Hullabaloo

WTVT-TV:

Witness: Martin attacked Zimmerman — ORLANDO - A witness we haven't heard from before paints a much different picture than we've seen so far of what happened the night 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. — The night of that shooting, police say there was a witness who saw it all.

Discussion: Power Line, Examiner, The Jawa Report, Daily Mail, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, USA Today, The PJ Tatler and The Huffington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:

New Trayvon Martin Twist: Anonymous Witness Reportedly Tells Police Martin Attacked Zimmerman — We've run a lot of posts on the Trayvon Martin killing controversy. And as TMV Guest Voice Columnist Simon Owens notes, there has been a truly shocking lack of coverage of this story from some conservative websites.

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Dan / Riehl World View:

As Media Reports Conflict, Why Was Trayvon Martin Photo Altered? — Among a few interesting items uncovered in trying to examine the facts behind the shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin without drawing any conclusions, was that a widely viewed photograph of Martin appears to have been altered, somewhat.

Discussion: Stinque, Whiskey Fire, Democracy Now and iOwnTheWorld.com

CNN:

Zimmerman's lawyer: ‘Stand your ground’ doesn't apply in Trayvon Martin case — For more on the investigation into the Florida teen's shooting death, watch “Trayvon Martin Killing” at 7 ET Saturday night on CNN. — Sanford, Florida (CNN) — A lawyer for the man at the center …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Runnin' Scared, Washington Monthly and msnbc.com

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
Trayvon Martin and the End of Excuses

Discussion: The Hill, msnbc.com, The Democratic Daily, The Impolitic, The Mahablog, Weasel Zippers and CNN

Matthew Shelley / NationalJournal.com:
Gingrich Calls Obama Comments on Trayvon Martin Shooting ‘Disgraceful’

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Little Green Footballs, BuzzFeed and Balloon Juice

Maggie Haberman / Politico:
Newt calls Obama's Trayvon Martin comments ‘disgraceful’

Discussion: Orlando Sentinel, JustOneMinute, Booman Tribune, No More Mister Nice Blog, Dallas Morning News, Taylor Marsh, Fox News, Mediaite, The Moderate Voice, Balloon Juice and The Huffington Post

Stephanie Condon / CBS News:
Obama: “If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon”

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Huffington Post, Associated Press, Truthdig and Corrente

James Kwak / The Baseline Scenario:

Why Do New York Times Columnists Keep Swooning for Paul Ryan? — After David Brooks last year, now it's James Stewart who has fallen for Paul Ryan's rugged good looks. He attempts to defend Ryan's tax proposals against charges that they favor the rich:

Discussion: Power Line and Booman Tribune

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:

Risk-Averse Romney — The candidate attempts to reassure conservatives. — Mitt Romney wants to eliminate government programs and shutter cabinet agencies. Doing so, he says, is “the critical thing” that needs to be done in order to bring government books back into balance and to begin restoring the promise of America.

Discussion: Politico

BBC:

Borat anthem stuns Kazakh gold medallist in Kuwait — Kazakhstan's shooting team has been left stunned after a comedy national anthem from the film Borat was played at a medal ceremony at championships in Kuwait instead of the real one. — The team asked for an apology and the medal ceremony was later rerun.

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Israel Matzav, msnbc.com and Guardian

New York Times:

Maher's Attacks on Women — To the Editor: — Re “Please Stop Apologizing,” by Bill Maher (Op-Ed, March 22): — We're both women who have worked in Democratic politics and the media for decades and find Bill Maher's misogynist treatment of women candidates deeply disturbing.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Conservatives4Palin and The Loyal Opposition

NBC / msnbc.com:

Former Vice President Dick Cheney recovering after heart transplant — Updated at 7:14 p.m. ET: Former Vice President Dick Cheney was recovering Saturday at a hospital in Falls Church, Va., after undergoing a heart transplant, his office said. — Cheney was in the Intensive Care Unit …

Discussion: Associated Press

Mj Lee / Politico:

Geraldo Rivera: My own son ashamed of me — Geraldo Rivera's son Gabriel is “ashamed” of his controversial comments about Trayvon Martin and his hoodie from earlier in the day, the Fox News host admitted to POLITICO. — “Gabriel broke my heart. He's my oldest, 32, and he just told …

Discussion: Mediaite, Gothamist, The Week and The Right Scoop

Jerusalem Post:

'French teacher asked minute's silence for Merah' — French education minister calls for English teacher's suspension after she called Toulouse killer a “victim.” — By REUTERS/France 2 Television — France's education minister called for disciplinary proceedings against a teacher …

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Scared Monkeys, Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch