UPDATE: ‘Stand Your Ground’ Got Marissa Alexander 20 Years with No Community Outrage

*We are sitting on the precipice of the George Zimmerman trial set to begin on Monday, June 10, but we hope that people remember Marissa Alexander when the trial begins.

Marissa Alexander is the Florida mother and abused wife that fired a warning shot in her home to keep her husband, Rico Gray, from killing her –as he promised– and was sentenced to a mandatory 20 years in prison.

The Stand Your Ground law that she thought would protect her did not…and she didn’t kill anyone.  Her children were present and she was trying to protect herself.

She didn’t pursue him.  She did not kill him.  She was simply protecting herself and she is still waiting to see the community outraged by the extreme punishment.

George Zimmerman, on the other hand, stalked Trayvon Martin and willingly disregarded the authorities instructions for him to leave the 18-year-old alone and let them handle what Zimmerman, in his twisted thoughts, conveyed as a threat.

(more…)

Related News on EURweb:

• Marissa ‘Stand Your Ground’ Alexander Talks About her Case [Exclusive]
• Marissa Alexander Gets 20 Year Sentence for ‘Standing Her Ground’
• Abused Wife ‘Stood Her Ground,’ But Still Faces 20 Years
• Zimmerman Wants Case Dismissed Based on ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law
• George Zimmerman Waives Right to ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law

Former Navy SEAL Comes Out As Transgender

The new memoir by a U.S. Navy SEAL has nothing to do with Osama bin Laden. Instead, Warrior Princess tells the story of Chris Beck, the burly, bearded person on the cover and a "consummate guy's guy," who has since come out as transgender and changed her name to Kristin. After retiring in 2011, Beck decided "to make his body match his identity." (The repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" does not apply to transgender service members.) To Beck's delight, the manly killing machines she used to work with were accepting.

"I am now taking off all my disguises and letting the world know my true identity as a woman," Beck wrote on LinkedIn, alongside a new profile picture of Kristin featuring the American flag. (Also, Navy SEALs use LinkedIn like Facebook, apparently.) "Brother, I am with you ... being a SEAL is hard, this looks harder. Peace," one SEAL commented. Another added, "I just wanted to drop you a note and tell you that Kris has all the support and respect from me that Chris had ... and quite possibly more." America!  READ MORE

Obama Taps Hollywood to Help End Mental Health Stigma

Actress Glenn Close attends the White House Mental
Health Conference in the East Room of the White House
June 3, 2013 in Washington, DC

June 4, 2013 by EURpublisher02 

*President Obama turned to Hollywood for help in raising awareness of mental illness, beginning with a White House summit on Monday with Vice President Joe Biden, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. They were joined by two entertainment industry stalwarts with personal connections to mental health issues: actress Glenn Close and actor Bradley Cooper.

Close, who co-founded the nonprofit awareness group Bring Change 2 Mind, has said she first became aware of mental health problems when she starred in “Fatal Attraction” in 1987. Her sister Jessie grew up with severe bouts of depression and tried to commit suicide several times before being diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. Her nephew Calen has also been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. She’s also the narrator of a PBS documentary that started airing last week in California, “A New State of Mind: Ending the Stigma of Mental Illness.”  READ MORE
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[Why not,  right?  I mean,  were no longer medieval ignorant savages,  so what's the problem?
Brains are organs too,  as we know and organs can suffer damage.  Or are we still thinking the
problem is demons from hell?  Something contagious we might catch?  Or any other tomfoolishness
some shaman wants to peddle.  Then let's get on with the search for a cure.