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Subscribe to RSSLearning the lesson -- again -- how Breitbart and his protégés are more interested in liberal scalps than the truth… Why no one looks good in this story, especially the media… Liberals’ numerical disadvantage to conservatives… Obama signs yet another domestic achievement into law at 11:30 am ET… What happens when the GOP co-opts the Tea Party?... RNC having to deal with more damage control… In Georgia, it’s Handel vs. Deal in the GOP run-off for governor, while Roy Barnes cruises to victory in the Dem primary… Profiling AL-5… And Ellsworth out with his second TV ad.
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Snookered: After conservative activist James O’Keefe pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for entering a federal building under false pretenses, you would have thought that all of us in the ACTUAL news business would have learned this lesson about Andrew Breitbart and his protégés: They’re not out for the truth; they’re out for scalps. So once again, we find out that Breitbart has distributed an EDITED video that gets wide play on Drudge and cable TV; that the target of the video is embarrassed, forced to resign, or stripped of federal funding; and that -- surprise, surprise -- the video didn’t tell the whole truth.
*** No one looks good here: The most recent example -- an Agriculture Department employee apparently giving a racist speech before the NAACP, the Obama administration firing this employee, but it turns out that the speech was actually a positive one -- doesn’t make anyone look good. The Ag Department (which dismissed the employee, but is now reexamining the matter), the White House (which is always quick to jettison anyone under conservative fire, especially when it comes to race), or the NAACP (which, after its spat with the Tea Party over race, condemned her speech but has taken it back). But those who look the worst here are the news media. Any credible journalist or journalistic organization given an edited video would want to see the full context, right? Especially if you know the source has an agenda, right? Yet the same questions could be asked of the White House. How did an administration that complains so much about the 24-7 media culture -- often correctly, we might add -- act without knowing all the facts?
*** Beware of the shiny metal object: Breitbart and other conservatives used race as the bait to guilt the so-called MSM and the Obama administration. Is this a story about race? Is it a story about the media? It's both, but let's not let race be the shiny metal object that distracts from the conversation about today's media culture and Washington's addiction to it.
*** Liberals’ numerical disadvantage: From the conservative blogosphere to the liberal one… When the liberal blogosphere confab, Netroots Nation, kicks off tomorrow in Las Vegas, it will inevitably further the "Why are progressives disappointed in Obama?" storyline. In the past few months, liberal commentators have bemoaned that the public option wasn’t included in the health care law, that the financial reform legislation -- which President Obama will sign into law today -- isn’t strong enough, and that Gitmo still isn't closed. The Nation's Eric Alterman even penned a widely discussed essay explaining these disappointments on a system that's stacked against progressives. But here is something to consider: It's the country -- not the system -- that's stacked against liberals and progressives.
*** For Democrats, it’s all about the center: From 1989 (after Reagan's presidency) to now, the most stable data in the NBC/WSJ poll has been that roughly one-fifth of the country identifies as being liberal, while one-third identifies being conservative. Even in 2008, when Obama decisively won the presidency, the average in the poll was 25% liberal, 36% conservative. And in 1996, when Bill Clinton easily won re-election, it was 22% liberal, 34% conservative. For Democrats, this means that if they want to win national elections, they need to win about 60% of the self-described moderate vote -- which Obama did in '08 and congressional Dems did in '06, per the exit polls. By comparison, however, John Kerry got 54% of the moderate vote in 2004.
*** Changing the trajectory: So the bigger question for Democrats and liberals shouldn't be: "Why isn't Obama's presidency more progressive?" Instead, it should be: "Why isn't the country more progressive?" During the '08 presidential campaign, Obama declared (controversially at the time): "Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not." He was correct. And progressives -- as well as historians -- might better judge Obama 10 to 15 years from now, whether his administration was able to bend the trajectory of American politics like Reagan did after '88.
*** Another domestic achievement: Here’s one consequence of the USDA/race/NAACP/Breitbart story: The media is going to pay more attention to it than to President Obama’s second-biggest domestic achievement so far this year. At 11:30 am ET, President Obama signs the financial reform legislation into law. Obama also will sign the extension of unemployment benefits into law -- but he’ll have to wait. NBC’s Ken Strickland and Shawna Thomas reported yesterday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Republicans are making him burn the 30 hours that is required, but often waived, after a filibuster is broken. "We just passed badly needed legislation to help two-and-a-half million unemployed," Reid said on the Senate floor. "To show the lack of understanding and feeling and compassion of the Republicans, they're making us waste 30 hours."
*** What happens when the GOP co-opts the Tea Party? Per NBC’s Luke Russert and Shawna Thomas, the brand-new Tea Party caucus will hold its first meeting today at 9:00 am ET, and then holds a press conference at 10:00 am. And here are those who have RSVPed to attend: Michele Bachmann (MN), Paul Broun (R-GA), Dan Burton (R-IN), John Carter (R-TX), John Culberson (R-TX), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), Steve King (R-IA), Mike Pence (R-IN), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Todd Tiahrt (R-KS). Do note that at least two of these members -- Sessions and Pence -- are part of the GOP leadership. What’s more, as MSNBC.com Carrie Dann notes, all of these members come from VERY safe GOP districts. In fact, they won on average 62% of the vote in their 2008 elections. The decision by Sessions to join the Tea Party caucus might be comfortable to him as Congressman Sessions, but is it the right thing for NRCC Chairman Sessions, especially since there are moderates in places like New Hampshire or New York or Massachusetts who probably will NOT join the Tea Party caucus?
*** More damage control for the RNC: The Washington Times reports, “The Republican National Committee failed to report more than $7 million in debt to the Federal Election Commission in recent months - a move that made its bottom line appear healthier than it is heading into the midterm elections and that also raises the prospect of a hefty fine. In a memo to RNC budget committee members, RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen on Tuesday accused Chairman Michael S. Steele and his chief of staff, Michael Leavitt, of trying to conceal the information from him by ordering staff not to communicate with the treasurer - a charge RNC officials deny. Mr. Pullen told the members that he had discovered $3.3 million in debt from April and $3.8 million from May, which he said had led him to file erroneous reports with the FEC. He amended the FEC filings Tuesday.” The RNC denies to First Read that it has any debt, and says every invoice Pullen used was already paid for. But it can’t be dismissed: The RNC’s treasurer and chairman are at odds here, and this news only helps groups like Karl Rove’s that are trying to raise money outside the RNC.
*** The Georgia results: In Georgia last night, Karen Handel -- boosted by her Palin endorsement -- got a plurality (34%) in the GOP gubernatorial primary, and will compete in an Aug. 10 run-off against second-place finisher Nathan Deal, who got 23%. And in the Democratic primary, former Gov. Roy Barnes easily won his primary, getting 66% -- an impressive feat considering that he was competing against (among others) the state’s top African-American elected official (two-term Attorney General Thurbert Baker). It is worth noting how the Republican Governors Association, which wasn’t too fond of seeing onetime-frontrunner John Oxendine (who finished fourth) winning, has benefited from Palin’s endorsements. They were more than happy to see Nikki Haley win in South Carolina. Ditto Handel in Georgia… In many ways, the RGA has been clever about using Palin late to dispatch with problem potential nominees in New Mexico, South Carolina and, now, Georgia.
*** 75 House races to watch: Previewing AL-5: Today, we look at the race in AL-5, where incumbent Parker Griffith (R) lost his primary after switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. The Democratic nominee is Steve Raby, who won his primary with 62%. And the GOP nominee is Mo Brooks, who won with 51%. John McCain won 61% of the vote in this district in ’08, and George W. Bush won 60% in ’04.
*** More midterm news: In June, the DSCC outraised the NRSC, Politico writes… In Arkansas, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows John Boozman (R) leading Blanche Lincoln (D) by 19 points… And in Indiana, Brad Ellsworth (D) has unveiled his second TV ad.
Countdown to OK primary: 6 days
Countdown to KS and MO primaries: 13 days
Countdown to CO and CT primaries: 20 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 104 days
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Party First—Country Second:
Have you ever wondered how many times you can be on the wrong side of an issue and still be considered relevant? The answer is…often. Let’s start with economy issues.
Republicans opposed the stimulus plan. Yet stimulus money helped people keep their jobs in city and state governments, plus helped to improve the nation’s infrastructure. Several Republicans who opposed the stimulus money were caught passing out stimulus checks like they were Santa Claus.
Republicans support tax cuts for the wealthy, saying that tax cuts would improve the economy. Bush 41 called that “voodoo economics” and it has been proven that tax cuts increase the national debt.
Republicans vote to block unemployment benefits. They refuse to recognize that unemployment dollars spent on basic necessities in fact returns money back into the economy.
2.5 million unemployed workers need to put food on the table and pay for their mortgage. All these unemployed workers are not Democrats. How do you think these Republicans will vote as they realize it was the Democrats who gave them a helping hand?
Republicans dismantled the jobs bill leaving only unemployment coverage. By removing provisions that would help Americans find new jobs, Republicans have revealed they do not want the economy to improve. The do not want unemployment to drop. They only want talking points to improve their chances in the November election.
Don’t tell me they care about America first. For conservatives it’s all about party first. Conservatives like Limbaugh want our President and our country to fail and they have proven it in words and deeds.
Anyone want to place a ‘friendly’ wager on if the Fair & Balanced News Station will issue a apology and or retraction for once again running prejudicially edited video?
Laura Ingram & Bill O’Reilly are prime examples of all that is WRONG with what passes as so called journalism in this country!
And shame on the Department of Agriculture & NAACP for the ‘knee jerk reaction!
They should KNOW better by now anytime your ‘source’ is a conservative blogger and Faux ‘News’ you should be suspicious!
After all integrity is a foreign concept to that crowd!
Snookered indeed…!
Bev: How about the Blago ‘bombshell’? For a year and a half you couldn’t shut the guy up… now the cat’s got his tongue’! lol
Ron, do you just sit in front of your PC refreshing the FR site every morning so you can always be the First Poster??
OCD behavior like that is not healthy.
I don't think there's anything more to changing the trajectory than eliminating the lies. On issue after issue the majority sides with Democratic goals. The country IS more liberal than it believes itself to be. It will be until the "MSM" realizes that they've willingly invited Fox News and the entire pantheon of right-wing talkers to be part of their club. Doing so has actually HURT the traditional media, helped destroy the image of the news business in the eyes of average Americans. Thanks FR for taking the first step toward accepting responsibility for the part the media plays in this whole sorry mess.
thank you. Now CHUCK...the WHITE HOUSE should be embarrassed? Two words Mr. JOURNALIST...the GOOGLE!!! How dare you try to show how unbiased the media is when they don't even INVESTIGATE this story. How DARE you? And the argument, the debate, is NOT about race. It's about LYING about race to incite people. Quit CONTINUING to give a 'slant' to this incredible story.
Feisty ad Ron,
Great posts. Lots of luck waiting on any apology form Fox. They are part of the hoax they new what they had was edited by Breitbart. He did it before with ACORN. This is just more of the right creating diversions from the real issues at hand. How can the NAACP claimed to be mislead. Sherrod's speech was at a NAACP meeting, why did not Jealous go review the tape beforehand? What really surprises me is how fast the White House pulled the trigger on Sherrod. What happened to the concept of getting the facts from the accused before a knee jerk reaction. We are now entering a zone where any racial accusation is made (true or false) common sense goes out the window. It appears we are now guilty until proven innocent. Not good. I just am at a lost. I do not expect FOX to do any Fact Checking as it would put them out of business and destroy their agenda. But somebody either at the NAACP or White House or both should have.
It appears that racism continues to be a tool to divide this country. I had hoped that with the election of a President Obama things would change and we as a nation would pull together and work around this. I guess I was wrong. the battle between NAACP and the T.P.'s has claimed another victum.
Too bad. I thought that maybe we were beter than that.
You are really twisted. I don't feel snookered. I watched the whole thing and heard her speak of her turnaround in thoughts of racism. I heard the cheers from the audience on the substance of her first comments. You hear what you want to hear according to your mindset.
Ron-how can I put this?
You are wrong on almost every one of your points.
The wrong side of the issues? That would be Obama and the Democrats. See, the new DNC talking point is how 'accomplished' Obama has been. I have a bit of a news flash for you: you push things through WITHOUT the consent of the governed, you win the battle, but lose the war. There is a name for governing officials who do things like this: DESPOT.
The majority of the people were against HCR-he rammed it through. The majority of the people were against his stimulous-he rammed it through. The majority wanted banking reform, but not THIS banking reform-he rammed it through.
So far, all his major 'accomplishments' have been things the majority did not want. No wonder yet another poll has shown that his chances of re-election are somewhere between nil and none. I'm speaking of Quinnipiac, by the way-and they have consistently had better numbers for Obama than anyone else due to their weighting.
If you bothered to do any research at all, rather than type out DNC talking points like a good little drone, you would realize that your statement about tax cuts was laughably wrong. In fact, every single time taxes have been cut, government receipts have gone UP. SPENDING is what increases the deficit, Ron-SPENDING. It needs to be cut. I've already told you where I would cut-you are in the minority of people who seem to believe that nothing can be cut, we just have to 'tax the rich'. It does not work, will not work, and never has worked. So, this time you think it will?
The other DNC talking point you are on about is called 'demand side' economics. Again, all that happens with a demand side economy is-inflation. You are not even increasing demand, you are increasing the RATE of demand, by putting money in people's pockets - while leaving supply stagnant. Allow me to illustrate for you: suppose the market had a supply of ten apples per day, at a price of $1 per apple, which only ten people could afford to pay. Voila! you have achieved equilibrium-where supply and demand meet at an acceptable rate. Now suppose the government decided that it was unfair that only ten people could afford to buy apples-there would be two choices: increase the supply of apples, thus lowering the price; or subsidize the purchase of apples, thus increasing the rate of demand. Demand siders ALWAYS go with option two. Thus, there would be one hundred purchasers of ten apples. What do you suppose happens to the price of apples in that scenario? If you don't understand that the price would go up, there is no hope for you.
This is not the first time the government subsidized demand without any increase in supply; as with most things, Obama believes that history holds no lessons for someone as 'unprecedented' as himself. Inflation is coming, sooner than you think, and that will hurt the 'poor' more than anything else.
The shrinking minority of Obama worshippers have another weapon in their arsenal: name calling. If Breitbart edited out enough of that speech to change its meaning, shame on him. However, I see no comment whatsoever on this site about the collusion among journalists to demean opponents of Obama, which has been reported in various, 'non-linked' newspapers - go to realclearpolitics and check out the reportage on the "Journolist". This is an invitation only website for reporters-only liberals are invited-and it functions as a site where reporting strategies are mapped out and executed. Therefore, there was agreement that the Rev. Wright story would be given short shrift, that opponents of Obama would be labeled racists, that the coverage of the malfeasance at the caucus sites, which cost Hillary Clinton the nomination, would be minimal, that Republican proposals be ignored-a host of others, but you get the general drift.
I notice First Read ignores that story, as well. They are all paid propagandists, Ron, but I think you know that. In fact, I think you are one of them
Interesting personal theories that you offer regarding "proof" that tax cuts do not benefit the Economy. Does MSNBC saying it qualify as your standard of "proof". Laughable....... if such Lemming like thinking were not destroying our great Country.
I notice First Read ignores that story, as well. They are all paid propagandists, Ron, but I think you know that. In fact, I think you are one of them
_________________
Congrats Ron! You sure got under NoJo's thin skin!
Oh and you're wrong because she SAYS so! lmao!
As always, wise thoughts.
In addition, the GOPers reduced the original addional jobs bill to strictly unemployment extension and then blocked it 3 times before the new guy took the Yes to 60.
Republicans whine about jobs yet do everything they can to prevent Pres Obama and democrats from creating more and helping states save more jobs. They are indeed, "GOP--Party First, people zilch"
Wayne, no one says tax cuts don't help the economy. We're saying they don't pay for themselves, and that they're least effective when mostly geared toward those at the top of the income spectrum. They're also less effective when tax rates are already at the lowest level in several decades. That's been proven.
No Joe: Looks like I did get under your skin...I win. As for being paid. I'm not, except for a few green stars. I write for the fun of it and to drive conservatives like you insane.
Joe in Albany, sounds like you are going to cry because Ron beat you to it? waaahhhhhhhhhhhh
No Jo Lies. Liar Liar pants on fire.
Once again the pot calling the kettle black. Hannity and Mathews - different sides of the same coin. Edited videos, race baiting, ignoring stories, picking out isolated examples to bolster your side - same game played on BOTH sides. You only have to watch and listen with an open mind to see this. Too many Americans are blindly listening to "their side" and being "snookered".
Those of us in the middle are mocked. We are not passionate enough. We are wimpy and undecided, not commited. No, we are just not foolish and close minded enough to buy into the rhetoric and propaganda on BOTH sides. But when it comes time to get elected what group is decisive? The middle. We want real solutions to real problems - not BS and more BS. The middle does't draw a line on every issue and call it right or left.
We need our own network. One that picks apart the half truths told by the right and the left. Parse the language carefully. Take note of the stories both sides ignore. I would like to think that as a country we are not so ignorant as to listen to all the crap spewed by the biased media (right and left) and take it as gospel.
Where is this all headed? I have always thought spirited debate was the best way to get at the truth. But this has become an all out war and truth has been the first casualty. Thankfully there is a very solid middle in this country that sees all the BS for what it is.
Richard Haydn
Feisty: I don't think I wil engage in a friendly wager...Fox has no interest in apologizing. Unless they are slapped with a huge law suit. Then they will yell like a four year old kid, saying everyone else was doing it to. No shame no responsible journalism from Fox. I also agree that the Dept of Agriculture acted too fast. They should have checked their facts before doing anything.
Ron said: "No Joe: Looks like I did get under your skin...I win. As for being paid. I'm not, except for a few green stars. I write for the fun of it and to drive conservatives like you insane. "
Ron, you seem to be imagining things. Where in my post expressing concern about your mental health do you see that you are "getting under my skin"? And where did you see in my post anything about you "being paid". And why would you want to "drive conservatives insane" when you already KNOW they are insane?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts and repetitive, ritualized behaviors you feel compelled to perform. If you have OCD, you probably recognize that your obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are irrational – but even so, you feel unable to resist them and break free.
Ron, maybe tomorrow you could wait until there are a couple of posts already up before hitting the post comment button.
I know Ron it's a no win situation! :0(
Ps: Are you going for the home run today? I see Joe in Albany is whining again about you this morning! Keep drive em' crazy my friend! lol
With everything we are facing as a country - Joe's major concern is you got to go first!
Joe in Albany, male homosexuality is characterized by an attraction to other males. give your boyfriend todd a kiss goodnight there Dr Strangelove.
Joe in Albany-I believe he was talking to me-although I did not mean to imply that he was getting paid. You see, when I respond to Ron, he NEVER, and I do mean NEVER, even tries to discuss the points I bring up-he merely says he has 'gotten under my skin'.
He has no clue, not unusual for him-that I couldn not possibly care less, except for the fact that his daily liberal ramblings usually give me an opening to show just how wrong he is on almost any issue.
Funny-the majority of the country now agrees with ME, not him. Don't ding him for being first up-it's all he'll have after November-nevermind what he'll have in 2013. Let's see-vitriol? Rage? An empty feeling where his Obama worship used to be?
Yeah-that and being first on First Read.
no joe, no bo, nj
Ron-how can I put this?
You are wrong on almost every one of your points.
The wrong side of the issues? That would be Obama and the Democrats. See, the new DNC talking point is how 'accomplished' Obama has been. I have a bit of a news flash for you: you push things through WITHOUT the consent of the governed, you win the battle, but lose the war. There is a name for governing officials who do things like this: DESPOT.
****************************
I hate to tell you this, but the governed have elected their represenatives. If legislation is passed by the House and the Senate, then the governed are getting exactly what they voted for!! The US govt. does not legislate by referendum(as say, california does). If you don't like losing the battles, i guess you need to move the battlefield in November!! Go for it and good luck.
NJNBNJ,
You are TOTALLY Delusional, go back and take your meds. You do not know truth from blatant lies, so why would any majority of people agree with you, you are just totally Clueless and ignorant of reality.
Put your helmet back on and step away from the keyboard!
Well said Rick!!!!!!
No Joe, I think you are not seeing the whole picture here. I took a snippet of your post, and I notice something interesting - you mentioned that all 3 major legislative accomplishments have been 'rammed through'.
Wait a minute.
Do you or do you NOT have any Republican representation (since we know you don't like President Obama)? If these items were 'rammed' through, what does this say about your Republican leadership? If a 'majority' of the people did NOT want this, then where was your representation??
Do the words INCOMPETENT, CALLOUS, HEARLTLESS, INEFFECTIVE or USELESS accurately describe YOUR Republican leadership/representation?
No?
How about 'out of touch'?
No Joe, if this 'despot', as you call the President, can 'ram through' the legislation he wants as a part of his agenda and your Republican leadership/representation are POWERLESS to stop it, then what does that say about your leadership/representation?
I REALLY think you have bigger problems on your OWN side of the fence. Maybe you should go tend to what your side is NOT doing before you even talk about what my side IS doing. It seems that MY side of the fence is doing quite nicely, thank you.
What has YOUR Republican leadership done for you lately?
No Jo and Joe: I would like to see conservatives post first. But I don't think about it because to go early means you have to have something to say. An idea. Then I realize that conservatives have no new ideas; they just like to attack anyone who is able to think for themselves...ie a Democrat.
NoJo 4 President !
Brought to u by Pole dancers of America !
I don't even want an apology from Fox News Channel . . . that organization is the enemy that I know. I know where it's stance is . . .it has faithfully clung to that position for years and especially more since the election of President Obama - I pay no attention to what that "news organization" reports, because I already know it's going to be distorted.
But I KNOW I'm not the only person to realize this basic truth about Fox News (and this organization that released the edited version of the video). How other news outlets and organizations just ran with this story is what disturbs me. Now, I know some stations, papers and news outlets lean towards certain positions, beliefs, etc. I expect a certain bias when I open a certain news paper or watch a certain news talk show. The fact that MOST news organizations are now openly declaring their bias, and NOT ONE seem to be trying to remain objective and unbiased is what bothers me. Sometimes, I want to hear a certain viewpoint, but where do I go when I want THE TRUTH? JUST THE FACTS? ALL SIDES OF THE STORY? So that, then, I can form my own opinions and come to my own conclusions? That is what is disturbing about the new News culture. People aren't allowed to think for themselves anymore - and if we do, it's after we have cut through, and weeded out all of the bias and bs from so-called journalists and reporters.
As for the NAACP, as a card-carrying member, I am deeply disappointed that the organization was so quick to jump up on that bandwagon to discredit Mrs. Sherrod publically without speaking to her first to hear her side of things. After all, she was speaking at one of their events - the way it jumped to conclusions was abhorrent and I condemn that. However, since realizing its mistake, the NAACP has been very quick to offer its apology, personally to Mrs. Sherrod and publically. I applaued it for that admission of wrongdoing and attempt to correct it. That is a sign of true leadership and integrity - the ability to admit when you are wrong and attempt reconciliation.
So far, President Obama has demonstrated this characteristic. I hope he will display it again in this instance. And I hope Secretary Vilsick(sp?) will also follow that example.
Finally, I wish people would be honest and admit that RACISM is just a fact of culture in America. It won't ever subside, because part of it stems from pride in our different backgrounds and ethnicities. I don't begrudge that of anyone. However, I can tell you that my parents raised me with warnings and lessons from experiences that they had living in pre-Civil Rights Era South Carolina. As I grew, and learned and experienced different people and ideas, I discarded alot of their warnings - just like Mrs. Sherrod tried to explain she did- but keep a few that I will pass on to my daughter. And then I expect her to discard or keep my warnings based on her own experiences. It is what it is, and the sooner we are willing to acknowledge that that process happens in every family, the more quickly we will be able to discard all warnings and lessons from the past and create a new culture in America. We've got to be willing to acknowledge the biases and racism first, though.
And finally, isn't it amazing that we are still dealing with this crap? America is supposed to be the "Land of Equality," open to any and all that are willing to work hard and live harmoniously. When I lived overseas, if someone asked me what my ethnicity was, I never said, "We'll my ancestors where African, but I'm from America." My answer was always simply, "I'm American." And others were surprised (because I have dark skin and loc's), but they accepted it, and I was proud. I remember arguing with one Italian sandwich vendor, who said, "Where are you from?" I said, "America." He said, "Well, where is your father from?" I laughed and said, "He's American, too." He then said, "But where is your grandfather from?" I smiled, shook my head, and said, "You're not going to win this argument because he's American, too, and his father, and his father, and his father were all born in America." The sad part of that story, is that when I returned home to America, I immediately became African-America again.
um, Pietro? You DO know who is in the majority, do you not? Here's a clue: it is not the republicans. It is the Democrats.
That will be changing in a couple of months, though.
No Joe - so you - a staunch republican - are speaking on the behalf of DEMOCRATS?
Really?
That doesn't pass the giggle test - not even for you, No Joe. I would not be so sure that the GOP is going to take anything but a back seat in November.
I disagree with this. We live in a democracy. Not the Democrats nor Republicans own this website, nor any one individual. Why shouldn't the GOP get an opportunity to go first?
Fair is fair. Don't you think?
I agree Pat: First come, first serve. I'm happy to respond to whomever comes up first.
Joe in Albany
Does petty trite behavior come naturally to you? Or do you have to work at it?
The NAACP said that there are elements of racist within the Tea party... which is true, ala Mark Williams with his absurdly racist post - someone on the right please defend this poor soul. On the other hand, the right went after an innocent woman to smear NAACP...
...So it's simple really, the NAACP proved it was right by the dismissal of Tea Party Express leader, Mark Williams; while on the other hand, a Tea Party member smeared an innocent woman in all falsehood to prove a point against the NAACP.
ABSOLUTELY PATHETIC...
Isn't it interesting that MSNBC consistently parrots the Liberal line with their commentary.
What never ceases to amaze me is that the Liberal news media, who represent about 80% of the "journalists", seem to be competing to cater to their Liberal base, who amounts to only about 20% of the electorate.
If I were a stockholder in one of these Liberal media outlets, I'd seriously question the obvious decision to compete for such a small segment of society, and leave the other 80% of the market to more balanced reporting by the likes of Fox News.
It's obvious from the ratings that his was a shortsighted decision. Trying to force a Liberal agenda on a center-right Country is just not working.
no joe, no bo, nj
BRAVO!!!!!!!
Well put together comment. I don't put any credence in the Liberal Progressives in this country or their posts here and on Newsvine, but it is fun to read their illiterate economic ideologies and social positions of more nanny state government. Their apparent inability to be independent nauseates those of us who have actually created businesses and reaped the rewards of doing so. Their obvious and adolescent need to be supported by their master, the government, simply shows their inadequacy.
The blatherings of the Liberal Progressives regarding the Shirley Sherrod issue are conveniently stated and should just be accepted by everyone because we have to be compassionate or more currently,,,,politically correct. No one mentions that at an NAACP hosted meeting as Ms. Sherrod was taunting about HER superiority before she explained what she was trying to say, the crowd was jeering and cheering her insolence and high-handedness of 24 years ago. This is the true racism that exists in our country. Unfortunately, as has been assumed for years now, minorities CANNOT be racist, only white people. This is the confusion the Liberal Progressives haven't been able to correct in their minds.
Your example of inflation was excellent, and how supply side and demand side economics affect it. Your mistake was trying to convine the Liberal Progressive mindset that their outdated and never successful Keynesian economics doesn't work. The great fallacy of The Left is their belief that FDR somehow saved the economy during the Depression. His own Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau proclaimed, “I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started. … And an enormous debt to boot!” SOUND FAMILIAR????? Now our incompetent president claims that unemployment benefits are job STIMULATORS!!!! Perhaps he should talk to his own Director of the National Economic Council, Larry Summers, who decried unemployment benefits and welfare as job inibitors just 2 years ago.
The $timulu$ is the second greatest hoax, behind only the Health Care Redistribution hoax, that Liberal Progressives actually believe will create jobs. Yes, it will create more short term public sector and public service sector jobs. THIS WILL NEVER STMULATE OUR ECONOMY! Only long term, exportable manufacturing jobs will bring in NEW money from abroad so we can reduce the massive amount of debt this administration is creating. We used to have the luxury of using a small stimulus until the greatest manufacturing and export industries in the world started up again. We no longer have this luxury. We are the THIRD largest exporter behind China and Germany, our productivity, GDP and manufacturing base is crumbling. Yet Obama has no clue what to do.
Well, at least he got another vacation under his belt.
boldfresh, i need to "Repudiate" almost all of the nonsense you just rambled on about. you are clueless.
i realize that obama was clearing brush down at his ranch in crawford. oh wait.............
considered relevant by whom?
It's a reach to say the Party of No is considered relevant,...about 50,000,000 people would argue that point with you!
Pat, Boston
"...I disagree with this. We live in a democracy. Not the Democrats nor Republicans own this website, nor any one individual. Why shouldn't the GOP get an opportunity to go first?
Fair is fair. Don't you think?"
Maybe the Repubs are just slackers. They are too lazy to go first. They could get up earlier and make an effort to post first; but they'd rather 'tax' Ron and take away his 'hard earned' freedom to post first.
See how fun it is to SPIN?
glen quagmire, Quahog, RI
ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!
Typical Liberal progressive "repudiation",,,,name calling.
Look Glenn, if you Liberals just want to believe your party and not even TRY to think outside the box because it may interrupt your TV time or your daydreaming of the "Utopic socialist nirvana of Obamaland" I don't really care. But if you're going to use a big word like repudiate to impress yourself you should be able to abrogate something.
(I'll wait while you go look up the meaning of abrogate).
Pathetic.
boldfesh, that's twice now you made an ass of yourself. count em 2. that's what happens when you assume. you make an ass of yourself. who says i am a liberal? maybe i just hate republicans? who knows? you obviously do not.
LAUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Laughing At U Dope)
PS its 2010. Thinking outside of the box was years ago. you are dating yourself there chief.
Thanks Clara: It's hard for me to disagree with my friend Pat. I can say from experience that if you go "early" you better have your facts down or the opposition is unmerciful. They are rather outrageous when you do have your facts in order.
Tunde Akins - you say the right smeared an innocent woman? How about the NAACP? Or the USDA? Or better yet, the people that actually forced her out, the White House? All those people are not on the right but they definitely smeared her worse than anyone. Stop being so hypocritical and place blame where it should be placed, on everyone who got the story wrong! Exactly which tea party member smeared Ms. Sherrod? If you actually watch the video, you will see the favorable reaction by the NAACP crowd when Ms. Sherrod recounts her racist actions. That should be looked at by the NAACP and frankly the media. There is no excuse for Mark Williams remarks and no defense. I believe he is racist. But I also believe there are racists in the NAACP. It doesn't make the entire organizations bad. The NAACP is a hypocrite if they condemn the entire Tea Party because of one person and don't condemn themselves for the racists that have infiltrated their own ranks.
Ron & Clara, I was just coming more from a "diversity" perspective. Sometimes it's nice to see a different perspective (what the GOP have to say) first thing in the AM and then we can argue its merit from there; whether it be nojoe or anyone else.
This is only a suggestion. Nothing more. And if no one agrees with me, I am totally fine with it.
glen quagmire, Quahog, RI
Hehehehe!
Still waiting for your REPUDIATION!
Liberals,,,,,so easy.
Roy are you on crack? Seriously ignoring theflawed statistics you throw around, if what you said was true, the false light Fox and Breitbart put on the video would have been exposed on Monday. How about start living in reality, assuming that is even within the realm of possibility for you!
Boldfresh, are we to believe serial liars like Breitbart? Undereducated substance abusers like Rush, Beck and Hannity (who's only undereducated - I've heard nothing there of substance abuse)? Someone like Tucker Carlson, who goes to college for four years and leaves without a degree (but he can fix a Triumph motorcycle)? Think outside the box - and inside the rubber room!!
Auntie - Since when is someone "undereducated" because they don't have a college degree? What an elitist diatribe. As someone with a Master's degree, I can tell you from experience a degree doesn't mean you are educated or intelligent. Some of the most close-minded and ignorant people I know work in Academia and have more degrees than they know what to do with. In fact, many of them thrive there because opposing views, especially those not in-step with the liberal agenda, are not exactly encouraged.
Arodoll, I was in Pittsburgh when fat @## Limbaugh was "Kip Withers" on an AM station! What kind of "education" is that? How about substance abuse? What kind of "education" is that? You remind me of the Chinese during the Cultural Revolution! Send the "elitists" out to collective farms for re-orientation! If you can read or write, you need "re-education"!
Since when can you get a master's degree in b@!!sh!t?
Rush to judgement ??? OH REALLY !!!... did you forget its on tape ...If this were a white person saying such things about not assisting a black person who was in need and asking for assistance the uproar would be much MUCH LOUDER !
NJ - as a fellow NJ person I think I can translate what Pietro is trying to say.
A bill cannot be "rammed through" our Senate as that would imply that the minority has contrived a way to get a bill passed against the wishes of the majority. Obviously in this case the majority was elected by the people and are acting on their behalf. Since most people in the Senate (for now in your eyes) are Democrats the bills being passed are on behalf of those people who elected those officials (obviously). That means that these bills were passed by the Senate on behalf of their constituents which they can either agree with or not agree with on the next election cycle (again as you mentioned).
I also note your use of polls to bolster your argument. I would like you to expound on the fact that polls which asked about a broken down (the specific parts of) HCR bill came back favorable on the parts separated but overall polls on the HCR were negative. Additionally, while most people have no idea what it means to "reform Wall Street" there has been a good bit of support on dealing with unabashed business dealings on Wall Street. It depends very strongly on what you ask the public in this areas as again most are not business savvy to know what can and would need to be done to "fix" the latest set of problems from WS. (I would say repeal the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act which was a huge mistake).
Lastly I'm an economist (CPA) and can agree with parts of your and Ron's comments about tax cuts. I think making a tax cut during a war is something no one has ever done and I believe Bush I specifically spoke out against it at one point. Bush II decided that giving a tax cut (not targeted but general to the public) during a war was acceptable idea although I believe and most economists believe that directly leads to spending on credit. Whether right away or after money held for the war efforts end up short due to the distribution. I do agree however that a tax cut can be used to stimulate the economy. I just believe it should be targeted to those who MUST spend the money to live rather than the Companies who more often than not keep the money or distribute it to the top 1% (sometimes at reduced rates). That's just a difference in opinion more so than an argument though.
Basedrum - No, No Joe deserved her butt whipping today because she espouses drivel that is never backed up with any fact - just conjecture. She is constantly telling us how 'bad' the President is - as is her right. Part of being a grownup is self-reflection and self-evaluation, and from her posts, it's always with an air of 'because I said so'.
Not a good look when debating issues.
Secondly, Basedrum, you needn't have bothered to translate what I was saying. No Joe knows EXACTLY what I was saying. note the lack of response to my post (she would not have been able to refute what I posted anyway). I did like how you explained the process so that even someone like No Joe would understand it. I hope you don't mind if I keep part of it so I can post it when we get another one of No Joe's tirades.
With all of that being said, I DO like your synopsis and I am curious as to hear your views on what you think concerning our economy. You do think that a mix of what Ron, Indiana and No Joe says about tax cuts can help, but I see you have added a qualifier about those tax cuts.
Your premise is very well reasoned and I would like to hear more.
Auntie – I’m no Limbaugh fan but why is he “undereducated” because he doesn’t have a college degree? You still haven’t answered that question. Most Americans don’t have a college degree and I wouldn’t say most Americans are “undereducated”, would you? We all say and do stupid things sometimes, no one is immune. Attacking Limbaugh or Beck for their past substance abuse is pure desperation. Beck has been open and honest about his past and how it shapes his perspective now. The people that I know who have battled substance abuse have learned a great deal about themselves, other human beings and the world around them by overcoming addiction. That’s something a degree will ever teach you. Attacking me or Limbaugh or anyone else doesn’t bolster your weak argument.
Some of the smartest people I've ever known never went to college. So I can agree with your over-arching point; however, given the statistical trend essentially since World WarII - You would be hard pressed to convince me that most Americans are NOT undereducated. Hell, a lot of people think Sarah Palin is sufficiently educated and she HAS a college degree.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/apr2008/scho-a03.shtml
Chris Matthews said that the Breitbart release of the NAACP video was a result of white racism trying to justify their racism by showing black racism. In actuality it is a response by people that would not even think of another person's race being bombarded nightly by groups accusing them of racism. When the NAACP comes out saying that the Tea Party should renounce racists in their ranks they are stating a fact that every group in the country should do. But the fact that they single out one group presupposes that that group has a problem with racism (which has yet to be proven). Breitbart released the video to say that people that live in glass houses should not throw stones. And the White House and NAACP fell for it hook line and sinker. But the underlining frustration is that groups (and you have to admit primarily liberal ones) have a tendency to use racism as a weapon where there is no proof, just presumption (or dare I say a prejudice). Breitbart really didn't need to show an edited tape. The full video would have been just as damning. Even if she came to a realization that it wasn't about Black and White (yet she corrected herself and said again that it actually was about black and white) it was about rich and poor (which socialist view is just another example of the current administration's mentality), the audience vocally agreed with the premise that she didn't need to "do all she could have done" whether she did or not. The audience vocally agreed that she had the right to send him to "a white lawyer" and his own kind could help him. She may have being trying to teach, but in 2010, the NAACP audience was readily willing to be on her side if the lesson was that she wasn't going to help him or any other white farmer. That doesn't give me justification to be a racist, and I never would be a racist. But it does give me justification to say stop calling me a racist until you can clean up your own house.
GlassHouse,
You mean to tell me that all of the racist signs and rhetoric from the Used Teabagers was NOT racist?? That that fake letter published 'To Abraham Lincoln' was not BLATANTLY racist?? Are you willfully blind as well as daft?? The Repubs have ridden on a Platform of racism (the Southern Strategy) for ever since Nixon, at the very least, yet you have the gall to say that the Left needs to remove racists?? Clean up your own party before you go casting stones in that glass house of yours, you keep shattering windows and everybody can see it!! Chris Matthews is right, the whole thing was a setup with a heavily doctored vid only showing what the extremist racists wanted it to show, maliciously defaming a woman that was showing the harm that racism can do and that anyone can be guilty of it, but that we all need to remember how ugly racism is and how she overcame her upbringing some 24 years ago. That you seem to be an apologist for those people earns you NO respect whatsoever, no matter what excuses you try to use to cover up the facts! That your party denies what everybody can plainly see shows you to be much less than honest!
Racism amongst the fringe groups of the Teabaggers has been Clearly Proven, considering one of their chapters The Teabagger Express, and the noted and outspoken leader of them has been cast out of their groups, and others have been clearly warned. There were NO warnings about it beforehand, so one must think that it was tacitly allowed to happen. Once they were put on the spot, only Then did they appear to do something about it. There may well be many of the Teabaggers that are Not racist, and I am sure that there are, but a good deal of the angst that they are showing seems to surround the fact that we have a Black President, and it clearly shows amongst them. Considering that the very things that they complain about loudly, the exploding of the deficit because of the unfunded wars and tax breaks, the job losses, the housing meltdown, the Banking fiasco etc... all happened on Bush's watch, how come the Teabaggers were not up in arms then? They only exploded onto the scene after Senator Obama won the election and became President Obama, then, even before he enacted any of his policies, they were, literally, up in arms about him, saying he was not a 'real American' etc. To say that the movement is not 'racist' is only a narrow stripe away from the truth, and you well know it if you have been watching them at all.
I am not giving the people in the hall at the NAACP meeting any excuses here either, anybody of any race can be racist too. Consider how badly those folks get treated so often by folks, like we have seen here today in this blog, that are extremely racist towards them, in 2010. But remember, she WAS teaching them to not be racist themselves, and that was a good thing. Faux made a mockery of that and harmed an innocent woman for no other reason than revenge, and that is totally over the line despicable in ANY case.
Yes, I am a progressive, but I only call out those who have clearly SHOWN their racism as racist, to do any less would be dishonest and a disservice to those who are not. But at this point you would have to do a LOT of work to show me that the Teabaggers, in general, are not. Racism appears to be their ONLY real motivating force, aside from Repub money that funded them in the first place, and the Repub party IS racist, to the core!
Your glass bill is going to be astronomical at this rate!!
I like how you say there are racists in the tea party and in the same breath admit that the party throws them out. I will be the first to admit that in any group of people there are fanatical elements (and I assume you would agree with that premise fitting groups on the left). However, to lable an entire group as racist because of a few is unwarrented. You admit yourself that "fringe" elements cary signs...as do fringe elements in all groups. But, the right does not accuse the left of racism every chance it can. And when the right dares to defend itself....this is the result. Personally, I don't care because I have enough confidence in my beliefs to know for what I stand.
Couple more points:
Question: Where was the tea party when Bush was runnig up deficits and going to war? Granted there wasn't a coalition of people in a "party" but you probably remember that the repubs lost the House and Senate. Now I have a hunch that a whole bunch of repubs turned democrat and voted then, my guess is they stayed true to their convictions and voted agains the party that was doing those things. And now, they are fed up with both party's an magically an new group has formed.
Statement: "a good deal of the angst that they are showing seems to surround the fact that we have a Black President". I don't care if the President is black, white, purple, or poka dot. And I don't think you can you honestly say that a mojority of people are laying awake in bed frustrated because the President is black. I don't know, but my gut feeling is that maybe the angst people are feeling has to do with the fact that they don't know if they will have a job in the morning or if they can pay their mortgage this month. And that has nothing to do with the color of the president. honestly, it makes me worry about your ideas on race if that what you think of when you think of our president, that he's black.
Finally, I do believe our common ground is that there are fringe elements in any group. And as my last post was trying to illustrate, the frustration is in the casting of accusations. The NAACP threw the first stone...and got snookered. The right thing would be self reflection. But at this rate, all I see is more accusations
Many of these responses are well thought out. That is a change for the good. Of course I didn't read every one. But no one won on this issue, everyone was wrong, over reacted, or just plain self serving. In the end, just about everyone had egg on their face. A few backed up and said, hey, I (we) were wrong. I agree with the poster that said it would be a cold day in you know where before Fox recants their coverage. Fox is a joke as far as a news organization, always has been.
Faux (Fox news?) How clever! I don't watch Fox, there is so much hate there. They make me wonder what happened to the pride of I am an American'
I must have missed the story where all the states that took money to fund employee job retention and (!) growth are now in a financial position to sustain the jobs. I know it isn't happening in California. Our bloated state job and pension rolls are still bleeding the state dry. Some of the things our noble state spends money on is the off site seminars for teachers on how to present the achievements of Harvey Milk, an otherwise forgettable local politician who had two pieces of legislation, one involving dog poop and the other the opening of bath houses, who had the misfortune of being in the office of Mayor Moscone when Dan White went nuts. Had Willie Brown or Diane Feinstein been in the office instead of Milk then they would have gotten it. But the state is still spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to teach our k-12 this silliness.
About the Shirley Sherrod story
Their name is Fox News. Their theme is “Fair and Balanced”.
But they are not fair and balanced when they irresponsibly rush to air a story without an investigation to the accuracy of the information. The video, supplied by a Right wing blogger, was edited to distort the story.
This is one more example of a supposed news network creating the story rather than reporting it.
The problem with the NAACP and the Obama Administration is that they, for no good reason what so ever, believe that Fox News is a real news organization. But for Fox it became a win – win due to the over reaction by the Administration and the NAACP as they took the bait like they did with Van Jones and ACORN.
What we do know is that Fox is out to embarrass and harm the Obama Administration and if Fox destroys a person’s life along the way it is only collateral damage. How sad !
In a related story – Last night on NBC Nightly News Brian Williams reported on the misinformation prorogated by Fox News on the New Black Panther Party. About Time !
Dennis, bingo. They are out to humiliate President Obama.
Dennis:
Nice to see we're on the same page this morning! I can't tell you how impressed I was when Brian Williams called them out!
Dennis,
This gets a vote. If we had real journalists working at FOX and others this would not have happened. Their due diligence would have exposed the edited tape. As long as we allow agenda driven pundits to play journalist this is will be the norm. Somehow, somewhere the public is going to have to start demanding the truth from these people.
But..... "Blame Bush for EVERYTHING" is ok by the rest of the media.
Because we all know we have to coddle Barry. God forbid the media (besides FOX) actually hold him accountable for the mess he is creating.
Did Bush do somethings wrong? Sure he was a progressive light. Yes I called Bush a progressive. No true conservative would ever create a stimulus package. A true conservative understands that nothing is "too big to fail" and that the market will right itself.
Its much like the Studebaker (sp?) company. They did not keep up with the times back in the day and they ended up falling along the wayside because of it.
The way this should have worked was let GM and Chrysler lay in the bed they made. Sure theres a good chance one or both of them would have gone out of business. But someone else (Toyota or another car company possibly) would have stood up and jumped to the front of the line.
That is how the market is supposed to work. Going back to Studebacker....if Big Brother would have stepped in we would all still be driving them.
But anyways.... back to my point.... Sure Bush did some things wrong..... hence the reason were stuck with the worst president in american history. How are those ocean levels libs? Oh thats right...yet another lie by the traitor in chief.
But at what point will the MSM wake up and realize that Bush and Cheney havent been on Pennsylvania Ave in almost 2 years now? When will anyone but FOX hold Barry accountable for the disaster he is creating?
Im not going to hold my breath...
And as always.... yes I realize since Im white and conservative that according to libs Im racist....
Larry,
I don't say you are racist, I plain say that you are just full of Bullsh!t. You think you already know everything so do not bother with those little things called Facts, they scare you don't they?? Putting the blame on President Obama while giving Bush/Cheney all the excuses is sooo lame that I am surprised that you can really call yourself a Christian, remember, one of those tenents is to NOT LIE?? But then again, any fool with a Bible can find a passage to back up his/her viewpoint, as has been proven for 1700 years now, and going strong! You sir are a Studebaker in a Hybrid world, grow up!!
Larry Minot, you sir are a traitor and UnAmerican. when you talk of the president, you are to use the proper term, not your idiotic slant. you probably are not a racist, but you sure are a jerk. it's Mr President.
You forgot to mention the "Blame Clinton for Everything" mentality from 2000-2004.
if you remember the Studebaker, i guess you currently are on social security and mediare? i guess you plan on rejecting the socialist govt money once you have received what you paid in? good stuff there chief.
Larry - In other words – You got nothing !!
Oh wait ... you got "talking Points" WOW !!
Not racist, an idiot!
No Larry, being white and conservative does not make you a racist. Your thoughts, actions, beliefs, your recent post and apparent attitude are what show you to be a racist.
You should be proud to wear the badge of racism. You worked hard to earn it.
Too bad Larry (where is Curly and Moe?)
Your talking points are not supported by the facts. But hey, don't let that little point get in the way.
The only part I disagree with is that the WH believes FOX is a news station. Pres Obama has stated otherwise and everyone in the administration knows what FOX is. But because FOX for republicans is considered a news organization--it was necessary to try getting ahead of further FOX damage. If there can be good in what took place, it was CNN's quick response to get at the truth and the MSM took notice and followed suit.
In defense of yesterday's too quick reaction, I think that Pres Obama has a fine line to walk. He is black and as a result must avoid appearing to support reverse prejudice. The action of the WH administration was about protecting the President. That said, Vilsack moved too quickly, possibly encouraged by a WH staffer or the pres--who knows for sure right now. The initial report was that Obama had been informed AFTER Vilsack asked for her resignation. Vilsack is a good man and a fair man as is Obama. The good of this will be that in the future, reaction will first come in the form of a statement like Vilsack made today--investigate first, then take action. Another 24 hours made all the difference and could not hurt regardless of the outcome.
Glen....then do you refer to President Bush as Mr. President? Coz its the same both ways....
B. Honest did you even bother to READ my post? I clearly stated that Bush did things wrong as well.... He was not a true conservative..... So clearly I did not "lie" I simply stated that we are living in the generation that will go down in history as having the worst president in American history (Barack Hussein Obama Mmm Mmm Mmm...) But hey as long as the little kids keep sing the Narcissist in Chief's praises all is good in the world right?
larry traitor minot, i also refer to him as george bush. you can use barack Obama, not the unamerican terms you are using. how would you like it if i called you Larry social security and midicare sucking hypocrit minot?
Jody,
I understand your point and it was well said but you have to admit that the WH does react to Fox as if they were a real news network. Fox has been able to force the WH into several rushed decisions so far. Are there more to come … probably.
What about basic competence? The NAACP and the White House was aware of Brietbart and his proclivity to "edit" video. That was the allegation during the ACORN saga. So knowing that, and who Brietbart is, why in the world did the NAACP issue it's first statement, which was based solely on the "edidted" version of the video - a complete and unedited copy it at all times had in its custody and control? What prevented it from first looking at its own, undedited tape, before making a statement?
And I'm guessing that had the White house asked the NAACP for a complete copy it would have gotten it. Why did it rush out and casue the government worker to be fired without doing anything, other than looking at the "edidted" tape?
Both seem to be classic "knee-jerk" reactions. As for the NAACP, I could care less. As for the White House, such a reaction, and the complete failure to independently ivestigate causes me grave concern.
US Navy,
You said that if Fox had real journalists, the edited tape would have been revealed. The fact is if all of the MSM had real journalist, who did their due diligence, Obama would have never been elected. The man's history was no where to be found on the MSM. Obama's poll numbers are crashing because America is finally finding out they elected a Marxist. Hopefully, now that he's been exposed, the unconstitutional Progressive agenda will crash and burn for the better of our Country and future generations.
God Bless America
Spanky,
Could give me a reason why this should be GRAVE concern?
Or are you thinking we might end up in a war just because someone said that another country had unauthorized weapons.
I saw the tape yesterday on Morning Joe, and admit I was outraged at Sherrod's comments. I'm sure given the fact by the time it was reported on MJ, the NAACP had already condemned the comments, and my friend Tom Vilsack had accepted her resignation. (i.e. forced her to resign) I did not question whether there was more to the story. Yesterday morning I felt the administration acted swiftly, and given the facts that I had available (via MSNBC) I thought Vilsack had done the right thing. In the evening when I returned home I see the actual story (thanks to CNN) was completely different. The NAACP had apologized the full (or more complete) tape of her March speech showed not a racist reluctant to help a white farmer, but a women who realized her initial feelings were wrong, et cetera.
It is true in hindsight Tom Vilsack was wrong to press for her resignation, and the person from the USDA who talked with her 3 times on Monday was wrong to seek her resignation without providing her the courtesy of defending herself. However, in Vilsack's defense the NAACP had already issued a public condemnation of Ms. Sherrod's statement, which can't be over looked. Would Tom Vilsack have felt the urgency to eliminate Ms. Sherrod had the NAACP remained silent on the issue? We'll never know for sure, but having known Tom Vilsack years prior to his election as Governor in 1998, I suspect he would have looked at the issue more closely. Yes Vilsack made a mistake, as did the NAACP, however the media is most complicit in the matter. However after watching Morning Joe this morning one would question whether some members of the media learned anything from the incident.
Instead of doing any soul searching the show started out with Willy asking the control room whether they had shown the tape prior to Vilsack's termination of Sherrod, (when it became news, because of the termination, and not web gossip) when the answer was no, the show seemed to absolve itself of responsibility. Of course the fallacy of that defense was the tape had not yet been disseminated on Monday morning when MJ last aired prior to showing the clip repeatedly on Tuesday mornings show (i.e. MJ couldn't have aired it before Sherrod's termination, because the tape hadn't been made public) This self congratulatory absolution by MJ was pathetic, and an insult to the intelligence of the viewers!
Had MJ limited its commentary to the facts, and spread blame fairly, the effort to absolve the program of any role wouldn't have been so bad. But instead Joe insisted as a factual matter that the orders came from the WH, despite Tom Vilsack clearly stating the he made the decision, and the WH wasn't involved, and were notified after the resignation. It's true Ms. Sherrod was told by the women from the USDA that the WH wanted her to resign (and before the Glen Beck show), and Ms. Sherrod believes the decision was made at the WH based upon what the women told her, but the fact remains contrary to Joe's consistent statements that the WH ordered her termination as a factual matter, there is no support for Joe's insistence that the order came from the WH, and not Vilsack. Is it beyond Joe's comprehension that the women at the USDA would say the WH wants you to resign, instead of Secretary Vilsack in order to speed the process along? It is certainly possible that the order came from the WH, but it is just as likely (actually more so) that Tom Vilsack spoke honestly when he said he made the decision alone, without an WH involvement. Having know Tom Vilsack for over a decade I accept him at his word. However Joe's insistence that the WH is lying when it denies the decision came from there, not only exposes him as a partisan hack, but demonstrates his inability to learn anything from the episode!
MJ also ignored the fact that the NAACP's condemnation of Sherrod preceded her termination, this is not a small matter. When was the last time the NAACP has condemned an African American employee of the federal government stating her remarks were racist, and can't be condoned? I never recall this happening before. I understand why the NAACP was so quick to condemn, given they have been unfairly under attack for very moderate (and accurate) view concerning a fringe element of the tea party, and Sherrod's speech happened at a local NAACP event. After the NAACP condemned Sherrod it made any decision to hold off on a termination decision more difficult (almost impossible - think about it the NAACP condemns the women's remarks and the USDA does nothing would be the story line). Almost completely absent in the MJ discussion was not only the media's complete failure to be skeptical considering the source of the video at the time, but more importantly while Fox was making the tape the latest outrage, the failure of the MSM to look into the matter (try and find the full tape, etc). Who knows what would have happened had the MSM done its job on Monday and found the full tape, and called Fox and Breitback out on the trumped up charge of reverse racism. Almost certainly the NAACP wouldn't have condemned her, and clearly Vilsack wouldn't have terminated her. The MSM's problem wasn't merely accepting the "facts" as portrayed by Fox on Monday, but in failing to immediately look into what CNN uncovered Tuesday, and revealed that Fox was guilty of putting forward a false story.
The generally accepted (but false) belief is that Fox is the right wing and MSNBC is the left wing cable news outlet (whether Fox is a news outlet at all is often questionable), and CNN is in the middle. However if MSNBC really were the "left wing Fox" they would not have sat back on Tuesday (and more importantly on Monday) allowing Fox to air the clip ad nausea without checking it out. To CNN's credit on Tuesday they did not just accept the version aired on MJ (and elsewhere) that a reverse racist was properly terminated from the USDA, and actually did their job (a day late, but before NBC, MSNBC, CBS, and ABC)
Spanky
Your right on one thing, the White House and the NAACP both know of this tool's proclivity to use doctored info. SHAME ON THEM! The NAACP has apologized but you would think, before they threw her under the bus, they would have checked for first. I mean honestly, the speach was given at one of their functions. If someone is showing tape of one of your functions, doesn't logic dictate, we must have this tape. And second, how did Brietbart get ahold of the footage anyway? No one is asking that question. How did this man get the doctored footage in the first place.
Fool me once, shame on you – Fool me twice, shame on me – Fool me thrice, is my head even in the game?
Up to now, President Obama has been stoically attempting to pretend that there is a ‘policy’ difference between us and them. I’d like to personally advise him to take the blinders and the gloves off and dial back the Anne Frank mentality – the opposition has proven with this latest Sherrod stunt that “Despite everything… – SOME PEOPLE…” are simply NOT ‘…really good at heart.”
I think the standard reaction from this point forward should be – we will conduct an investigation of the facts and determine a course of action. Our reactionary BS is the stuff failure is made of. I was so pissed when the Dems capitulated on the ACORN funding just to quiet the echo chamber. By the way, WHY DOESN’T THE DNC HAVE A FRIGGIN’ ECHO CHAMBER?
If Rachel M had the info, why don’t we have an organized operation combating this BS 24/7? I was so happy to see Deedee Myers making the circuit; but really – Dems are so frequently too little too late. Once John Kerry was swift boated, I would have thought Dems would have gone on the offensive early and often; but no, we continue to react – too little, too late. To quote Will Rogers, “I belong to NO organized political party – I am a Democrat!”
Dennis, Columbus - no they don't react to Fox as if they are a news network, they react to them as if they are a subversive KKK element of the Republican/Tea Baggers movement. And with these kinds of people you must stay on your toes. I am so sorry that Ms. Sherrod had to go through what she went through, I hope they apologize and re-instate her (the government), however, I also hope she sues the pants off Faux News and Breitbart, who maligned her without fact checking. Why no fact checking, because they are a subversive KKK element of the Republican/Tea Bagger movement. They should have to file financials as part of the Republican party. They should lose their status as a News Network. They should be labeled the RepubliKlan Cable channel, not the news. Whatever the administration does or doesn't do immediately is looked at under a microscope, swayed to whatever advantage each of the cable stations wants. Since Fox is selling its BS to a group of people who, for whatever reasons, either racist or just unAmerican, then the administration needs to be on its toes. Just as in the Prof. Gates matter. The administration seemed to be on the side of the black professor and of course that got more news that it deserved, this crap will also. This time they erred on the side of the white farmer. Much is made of this stuff, while very little is made of the excellent progress the President has made in trying to turn this ship of state around in the middle of the ocean, with no help - sometimes not even from the left. (Ben Nelson comes to mind, and by the way, they should sit him down for whatever remains of his term and strip him of everything that he has a chairmanship, or subcommittee in).
We too often want to listen to the dopes of nope and allow their strategy to write the rules of the game. This morning, after seeing a couple minutes of Jerk and Mika (Jerk II), and their guests, including the obviously racist Pat Buchanan, I did not hear them condemn Breitbart, I did not hear them even condemn Faux. (Maybe I switched channels before that happened as I cannot stand to listen to them, nor Chucky and his mind-numbing polls). I hope Ms. Sherrod gets herself the best lawyer ever and sues Rupert and Company, Hannity, whoever ran the damn thing on their station, Breitbart (who probably produced it) and maybe if there are some consequences for their behavior and actions, they might be put on notice not to do it again. (LOL). But sue them enough, they will stop their unAmerican activities to bring this country down, to stop its progress to the 21st century, and to make the corporations King.
Oh, and just so you know, I am a 67 year old white woman who fought like hell to get this President elected, so I have a right - without reservation- to state the above. If it walks, talks and acts like a racist, then it is a racist. It it walks, talks, and acts like a traitor, then it is a traitor.
And all the language about "shoving down the throats" all the progress he has made, guess what you right-wingers out there, he was elected with a MAJORITY, like it or not. I'm just so sick of these people like NJAll Blow, they can kiss my skinny lily white you-know-what!
Glen the funny part is you can call me what you want but Im in my 30s and work full time....unlike the voting block that the Campaigner in Cheif is trying to build by turning unemployment into the new welfare.....
Cathy M.
Great post, well said. I liked where you called them a “subversive KKK element of the Republican/Tea Baggers movement”.
By both actions and words Conservatives make it clear they would rather destroy the country than be in the minority.
For all those condemning Fox News, do any of you actually watch it? I'm guessing by your comments no. First of all, the story was not run ad nausea on the cable network. The White House falsely told Ms. Sherrod the story would be on Glenn Beck's show that night. Guess what, his staff couldn't get the entire video to check the CONTEXT so they did not run the story. Hmmmm.... I wonder where Dan Rather would be right now if he did the same thing?
So many of you are blindly following what Fox News competitors are saying about the network instead of watching it yourselves and making up your own mind. Competitors have an agenda, and they are losing badly in the ratings so of course they make Fox an enemy and you all buy in without thinking for yourselves.
Fox News ran the same clips that CNN, MSNBC, NBC and ABC News ran. Hypocrites, one and all...
I'm glad Glenn was able to come up with a good excuse for not running the show he intended last night. Quick thinking on his part. As of his Tuesday radio show Ms. Sherrod was the worst sort of black racist imaginable and he complimented Andrew Breitbart for his exemplary journalism. At least he was quicker to shift stance than most of the other right wing talkers.
Arodoll, I occasionally watched Fox News. I soured on it when they switched from regularly scheduled programming, "The Beltway Boys", to go to CPAC for Rush's speech. Let's see, Fox switched away to a speech by an undereducated substance abuser? Fox is utterly uninterested in real journalism and truth. I'll be d@mned if I'll watch a bunch of @$$h0!es!!
BTW howcum Rachel Maddow had the skinny by 9 PM EDST?
Complimenting Breitbart for exemplary journalism? What's next? Awarding Charles Manson for population control?
I watch Faux News...I also surf Foxsnews.com...I'm a liberal, atheist, President Obama lover...but I still like to see and hear what both sides are saying...
arodoll....I guess your "one and all" comment is incorrect. I don't blindly follow anyone including a superior being who lives in the sky and judges everything I do and say. mmmm do you?
She was Fired by the Obama administration Before Fox news Aired this Story. She was Chastized by the NAACP before Fox news Aired the Story.
You liberals are trying to blame Fox for something that didnt happen..
When the hell is someone going to sue Andrew Breitbart?
Doesn't there come a point when even the right wing realizes that when he posts one of his doctored videos so that it can reach wide distribution that it's probably a big, steaming pile of bull manure?
Hi Michael. We'll see what transpires today. I don't think they ever apologized for ACORN, so I don't think they care one way or the other.
Michael: You are right on: Andrew Breitbart need to be sued for all he's worth.
Breitbart is a professional provocateur. Why was his work accepted at face value? Why did people (not just Fox News, MSNBC ran it as well) just accept the videotape without taking a look further? Breitbart is shameful, but in this instance, the rest of the media and the White House-who reacted out of fear of Glen Beck, of all people-are equally shameful.
Oh they know. They just will keep posting that crap on their programs because it fits into their aganda. These people are not journalists in any sense. They are simply paid political pundits pushing their lies down the throat of Americans. We have to be the ones to stop this, they will not.
Mrs. Sherrod should sue Breihart and Fox news for defamation of character
US Navy:
No, they are not journalists. But they're being treated as though they are. And what's heartbreaking is people defend them. Which means these people, these millions of people, cannot be made to want to hear the truth. It's troubling.
Pat, Boston
I hear you. It is indeed sad. It is amazing the number of people that use FOX as ther only source of information and if Rush and Glenn say something it is gospel no matter how insane. You are correct in that we cannot change this mentality. We need to keep pushing the truth in hope that concern Americans will listen.
I hear you. It is indeed sad. It is amazing the number of people that use FOX as ther only source of information and if Rush and Glenn say something it is gospel no matter how insane. You are correct in that we cannot change this mentality. We need to keep pushing the truth in hope that concern Americans will listen
So why was she fired by the administration?
I saw Breitbart on Hannity's SHOW last night. He made this comment, "I could care less about
Shirley Sherrod." I listened to it again this morning, to make sure I heard him correct. That comment
left me speechless.
Ron Indiana:
You need to work on your phrasing. No, Andrew Breitbart does not need to be sued for all he's worth. He's worthless.
What I think you meant was that he needs to have every last penny he has to his name transferred to Ms. Sherrod.
Fox has been shown on numerous occasions to lie, fabricate, stretch, and twist the reportage of "news". In this case, the editing of the video places this in the libel/slander category. The "public figure" standard simply does not obtain in this case. Ms. Sherrod was wronged.
By the way, the NAACP and the White House also deserve a good backhand for this. That kind of reactionary BS response is what I expect from the right wing crazies.
Sandy-1851937
I also saw Breitbart on Hannity last night and was appalled at his callousness. He and Hannity were still behaving as if the “real” story had not broken.
Stunning lack of morals!
A agree with posting by David Walker to Ron , Indiana that the NAACP and WH deserve to be called out for always reacting to the loons on FoxNews. Haven’t they learned by now that their mission is to destroy President Obama so they are to be treated as the enemy and not to be believed about anything! Least of all a doctored videotape.
I find it rather curious that no one has asked the question “Who supplied the original videotape to Breitbart? There are obviously “plants” at NAACP meetings.
Good post Dennis.
The one day I am not around to comment, the topic is media malpractice?
Say it ain't so!
lol
Interesting that Breitbart makes one comment on faux "news" and then says the opposite on MSNBC - (about how badly he felt for her). Calling him a provocateur is putting it too nicely. He is a slimy opportunistic scumbag and he knows exactly what he's doing. Hopefully, all have learned a lesson here, and will no longer lend any credence to anything this guy says from now on. I know, wishful thinking......
I'm not sure that Brietback could be sued. He only showed part of an actual speech. It was wrong, immoral and sick, but I don't see how it could be defamation. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm not. Whether Fox could be sued, is another question, if they knew the full tape showed the opposite of what the out of context clip implied, it's possible she'd have a cause of action against Fox.
where's our attorney, Anna Molly - is this libel or slander (intent/motive) resulting in wrongful termination? there oughtta' be a LAW,...
He did use actual words; but they were edited with intent to mislead or misrepresent - that is not an 'artful liberty' but rather a slanderous one,...or at least that's my angle on it.
Navy,
The truth is in the Bible and Constitution. Both of which the progressive left are trying to destroy. Where was the truth in the health care bill??? Bribing for votes, back room deals, you can keep your Dr., keep your current policy, will be deficit neutral, and on and on. It sounds like many on this thread wouldn't recognize the truth if it slapped them across the head.
Thank you for your service.
God Bless America
enough IS enough. You can't have my Bible OR my Constitution. That's right, they're mine as well. A proud Liberal. Deal with it. As you live in my United States (that's right, it's also mine as much as it is yours) you have no choice.
enough:
Why does the conservative position always go back to accusing progressives of trying to destroy the bible and the constitution?????? How dare you!!!
Do you think enough would be so fond of the Constitution if he realized that Liberals wrote it? I think we can agree, but what He preached, that Jesus was a Liberal too. He certainly was not advocating that things should stay the same.
Are there really people this idiotic? You can't be sued for playing a video tape! Even if its edited. Hello! News organizations do this hundreds of times a day. If Breitbart or anyone else tampered with the video and say, put in a voiceover, that would be different. How is it defamation or libel if she actually said those things? If Fox should be sued, shouldn't NBC, MSNBC, CNN and ABC News be as well? They ran the same video. All of the news outlets should have researched the entire video to find the context of her speech. Blaming only Fox and not mentioning the other networks just shows how bias and uniformed most of you really are.
"If Breitbart or anyone else tampered with the video and say, put in a voiceover, that would be different."
Like he did with the ACORN videos? Don't take my word for it, ask the MA Attorney General who couldn't prosecute the "Pimp" case due to extensive editing and voice overs.
She was fired by the Obama Administration and chastized by naacp before Fox news aired this story
The Ugly Americans
ACORN revisited. The right wing is just waiting for any opportunity to pounce on the Democrats because of the racist element that they themselves have created and own. So they're now trying to turn the tables. And the Obama White House needs to be cognizant of this fact.
It must be very difficult to be an African American president in today's climate. He is trying to govern in the real world where a large percentage of the media is either lying or too lazy to try and figure out the truth. And an American populace more than willing to believe the worst.
We saw the images at these teabagger “rallies”. We saw the signs. We heard the nastiness. Nothing that comes out of the right wing is to be taken as truth. They don’t know truth. They are like those fruitcake carnival barkers.
Go after an African American president. Or organization. (ACORN) - The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now - was a collection of community-based organizations in the United States that advocated for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, voter registration, health care, affordable housing, and other social issues.
Now Gone. Destroyed. By lies. By the GOP.
Next go after an African American employee (Sherrod). And of course, in the meantime, go after Mexican illegal immigrants. Finally, after all these years. Now that the GOP is out.
People in this country aren’t as smart as they think they are. They’re listening to liars and they don’t even realize it. Or even worse, they don’t care.
_______
It was hard listening to the gentleman on Countdown last night who has been out of work since 2008. Really heartbreaking.
Larry O' was in rare form last night Pat! ;0)
That would be the same gentlemen who the right wing nuts referred to as being 'coerced' to stand with the President on Monday!
I would ask if these lunatics have no shame - but sadly I already know the answer!
Let's hope that the HR department at GE will be able to find him something...
Hi Feisty; yes, Lawrence's program was terrific. Rachel as well. We're so fortunate to have them.
ACORN was a dishonest organization from the get go. Its a blessing that FOX stepped up and brought them down.
Larry, FOX Propaganda lied their backsides off in going after ACORN. They were dishonest. They were dragged through the mud. An employee was fired. Fired. What he was accused of he did not do. He called the police after the "pimp" left. And yet he was fired. Lost his job. Lost his income.
And you could care less.
Pat, Boston
Rachael, Keith and Larry are my favorites. They do their best to make sense out of an otherwise insane world. There are very few places we can go today and get real journalists that fact check and fact check again. Too bad. The American people deserve better than the agenda driven paid political hacks that pretend to be journalist.
I expect FOX to play dirty pool and lie, cheat and steal to further their agenda. I am upset at how fast people pulled the trigger without getting her side of the issue, fact checking what FOX was pushing. The information was out there to debunk this before not after the damage is done. Sherrod unfortunately is paying the price. I doubt that if she is offered her job back she will take it. The damage has already been done and their is no going back. I feel bad for her.
US Navy, Rachel, Keith and Larry are terrific, I agree. They're not liars. They're not into propaganda. They're into getting at the truth. It's what the media is supposed to be.
But now it's all about ratings and knee-jerk reaction hyperbole. And millions of Americans are more than happy to go along with it.
Pat
It is not true that ACORN was destroyed . It is alive and well complete with Bertha Lewis as CEO. It just changed it's name to Community Organizations International. I have no clue if that makes them eligible for federal funds again.
Pat,
Really???? Come on, both FOX and MSNBC lies. Hell just google it and you will see both sides.....
"Rachel, Keith and Larry are terrific, I agree. They're not liars"
To all the posters here - have you ever noticed the rethugs can't handle the truth? You would think they way they shout and scream it would be Truth, Justice and the "AMERICAN" way. Not lies, injustice and the republicaint way.
And have you ever noticed that the rethugs always have to SHOUT us down.....can't believe in civil discourse? Only evil discourse.
As I said above, and it's the line from "A Few Good Men" "They can't handle the truth"
I enjoy all your posts and will miss you folks for the next 2 weeks - time off sunning (hopefully) in Pat from Bos area (lovely Cape Cod)....
Paul, they don't lie. If they did, I wouldn't watch. Why would I waste my time being lied to? It doesn't make any sense.
Larry, Minot, N.D.
ACORN was a dishonest organization from the get go. Its a blessing that FOX stepped up and brought them down.
__________________________
Many of us feel the same way about Haliburton. FOX lied to bring them down; but I guess the ends justified the means? You Christians SLAY me (literally and figuratively). Jesus must be so proud right now!
Larry Minot ND
Did you see the unedited version of the ACORN tape? Did Fox ever play the unedited tape and submit a retraction of their original comments? No they haven't. Why, because the truth hurts and everyone has seen Glenn Beck cry enough. Sean Hannity still needs to be waterboarded. He apparently decided that wager that Olbermann bet him was just to high. As for yourself, if you have seen the unedited version, why are you still spouting all this lies and Repub talking points?
Watching the video, you'll that the ACORN rep keep asking questions because he later, that same day relay all this info to his cousin in the Nation City Police force. Who then relayed it to the Feds. But what happened, he gets fired, ACORN looses its funding. The bright part of all this, those two tools are being sued here in California. Thats right sued, its illegal to record someone w/o their permission. But one last thing about ACORN. The real reason the Repubs went after them, they we're registering the people getting them to participate in the system. The Repubs don't want more voters, a small voting base suits them fine because the average person you and I and everyone else causes major problems w/ their policies which are slanted toward the Ultra rich, not you and I.
Think about it and watch the video, the unedited one
Usually I hold fast here on the position that you’re entitled to your own opinion but you aren’t entitled to your own facts. This morning, on one subject I won’t go that far. If you haven’t examined the entire story please look farther at the story of Shirley Sherrod http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/20/shirley-sherrod-ousted-usda-official-defended-by-farmer-she-he/ . The facts are plain here. Andrew Breitbart and the Big Government web site deliberately punished a woman who told a story to illustrate the importance of treating all equally, a story told to help heal the wounds of our racially tinged past. Breitbart and Big Government spun a massive lie to push the twin narratives of incompetent government and black racists. AT LEAST Fox News, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and Michael Savage jumped all over this story immediately.
Now the “alternative media” that worked so hard to get Sherrod fired wants to sit back and lay the blame on the USDA for acting in haste. They’re more than happy to sink back into the shadows, knowing that this time they’ve succeeded even by failing. It’s not enough. The “Drudge rules our world” paradigm needs to change. Anything less is failure for our society.
John: Very well said! The Drudge rules our world paradigm has to change. Couldn't agree more.
Okay, so now I've watched it-and I have to say that the only people 'snookered' are those who believe the lie that there was no 'there' there.
This woman does not deny the wrongful acts that led to her forced resignation-what she says is that the speech was about her LEARNING from that 'mistake'.
She does not deny that she did not do all that she could to help this man because he was white-what she says is that she is sorry, and probably would not do it that way again.
So? The fact remains that she did not do all in her power because of the man's race; having 'gotten religion' about it does not excuse the initial act.
It is one thing to have a belief system that would be denigrated were it broadcast-quite another to ACT on that belief system.
So, they edited out the part where she says that she learned from her mistakes-big deal. The act of wrongdoing cannot be taken back at this late date.
If you get drunk, drive, and get into a collision, there is no way you are going to get off because you now realize that you did the wrong thing. Same deal here.
No, she did what she was supposed to IN SPITE OF her prejudices, learned that they were unsupported in real life, the farmers in question kept their land and CREDIT HER for that.
Youre effort to keep the smear going tells me what I need to know. Thanks for playing.
NJ:
You seriously are just that stupid, aren't you?
Despite the fact that the farmer in question has come and stated publicly that Shirley Sherrod went went out of her way and basically saved their farm from foreclosure, despite the fact that the events in question took place 24 years ago, and despite the fact that the speech in question is about how we can rise above our own prejudices and bigotry, you're seriously going to continue to try to push the narrative that Shirley Sherrod is a racist?
And deserves what? To lose her job? To not be allowed to live? To be destroyed?
What?
What act of wrongdoing are you talking about? Are you saying that if the person is black and experiences feelings of racism they don't deserve to be in positions of authority, but if they are white, they do? That is what never makes any SENSE about the whole 'flip the argument' thing about racism that conservatives use.
"The Tea Party is racist!"
"Even if they are, those black people over there are more racist!!!"
So what? Simply by making the counter-accusation, don't you realize that you just validated the notion that racism is inherently evil? So now your best defense is that the other side is somehow MORE evil than you are and that people's only hope is to go with the side that, yeah, might be evil, but aren't as evil as THOSE guys.
Here's a clue: Condemn the racists no matter where they are. If they agree with you politically, fine. They agree with you politically. That doesn't mean they aren't capable of evil. It only means that they agree with you politically.
Look at it this way: ITM and I both seem to condemn racism. I acknowledge that we agree on that one thing. But that doesn't stop me from recognizing that in most aspects, he seems to be a pretty evil and petty guy.
Michael, It's pretty disgusting what comes out of some people's mouth. Thanks for the pushback on this. They need to be pushed back 24/7. Ignorance is everywhere.
So was Sherrod fired by Fox? No she was fired because the White House directed it. If someone says something false about someone on my staff (a rumor, and unfortunately it happens a lot in the workplace), and I fire that person, whose at fault? Let me put it more directly to avoid needless legal complexity - will I as the employer be sued for wrongful termination?
Fox and Briebart did not fire, or even cause Sherrod to be fired. Had the government been even remotely competent in this, they would have done an investigation and figured out the allegations were false.
As far as I know there is no law against posting edited video on the web. Edited or not all that was posted was video of Sherrod. The employer acted "stupidly."
uh oh, spanky is on here. i thought Larry the social secuirty hypocrit minot had the idiot of the day award. sherrod was not fired by fox, but her character was surely defamed. and you are completely off your rocker if you do not think that an edited tape by fox and briebart was the cause. again, you are off your rocker.
and you will be sued for wrongful termination if the person you "fired" was due to lies from another employee.
Glen are you giving me the "idiot of the day" award? Thanks.
But thanks for agreeing with me - the employer is the one at fault. As for your charaerazatin of what would be actionable defamation, and causation, I guess I'll just have to share my award.
And as always: Giggity, Giggity.
I've not hidden my disdain that the Administration was misled by Breitbart and Fox. But THEY WERE MISLED BY BREITBART AND FOX. Telling me it's OK to absolve the liars tells me which side you're on.
I don't care if you're Liberal or Conservative. If you're on the side of liars you're on the wrong side.
spanky, everyone is at fault here including the white house. not sure how they thought that fox could be credible on anything. but you are absolutely incorrect when you said that Fox and Briebart were not the cause. if i am her, i am suing everyone.
i will, take back the idiot of the day award and give it back to Larry "i love my own government checks" Minot in ND. he truely deserves it more. giggitty
nojonobonj
Willful ignorance DOES not become you. She did NOT treat them differently - she thought about it and realigned her thinking. AND the couple referenced are all over the news defending her. Why do you CHOOSE to be dumb on this? The facts are out there - please find them and yourself.
Glen, please don't be an "indian giver." I've already told three people I got the "idiot of the day" award from G. Quagmire, RI. Why would you now take that away?
And again, "causation" is a term of art, with an actual legal definition. And defamation cases are very hard to prove, and have a heightened standard of proof. But I think you got it right - she'd need to sue everyone. In fact, I think Brietbart would have an automatic and compulsory cross complaint against each and every news organization that ran the video, which they all got off his website, and the government, which did the actual firing.
And given the proclivity for knee-jerk reactions, I'd guess the government would quickly settle the obvious wrongful termination case. Fact is, Brietbart probably just made Sherrod rich, thank you very much Vlasic.
All Right......
Who the hell is "Vlasic"? Vilsack is the Secretary of Agriculture. Vlasic is a pickle with a spokes-stork that sounds like Groucho Marx!
Spanky: The administration did not defame Ms. Sherrod. Breitbard did. He offered a piece of "evidence" of wrongdoing, totally removed from the real context of what was said, a doctored piece of tape. The only thing Ms. Sherrod was guilty of was in trying to prove her point that color did not matter. The same way intelligent people give examples. The same way teachers analogize their points, to make a point. Since you, obviously, believe your right wing cable news show only speaks the truth, how do you justify their not doing so in this case. How do you justify that they are even a news show - with their breaking news about Ms. Sherrod - without checking their facts and reviewing the tape. No, they wanted to make a situation about race, and Ms. Sherrod happened to be the unlucky person that Breitbart picked and that Faux News "broke the news" about, because that is what they wanted the subject matter to be. Therefore they made the news fit their agenda. Therefore, it was actually not news but a made up story to fit their story line. Had MSNBC "broken the news" then they would have been at fault. Had any other station "broken the news" then they also would have been at fault. They didn't, Faux News did.
And by the way, I do watch Faux News occasionally. I believe that you have got to keep an eye on the devil and on your enemies - and that is what I consider Faux News. I used to think they had some meaningful news on, but now they are ONLY a right wing vitrol spewing Republican and corporate serving hate group. All of Faux News. I still occasionally hear one of their announcers, pundits, or whatever you want to call them, make an actual rational statement. But most of the time, they, as well as the Republicans, hope this President fails (and with him, so will our country) - not to do you any good, but to regain power, to continue their agenda of "bad government", "ineffective government", "incompetent government". We cannot survive decades more of the same failed policies we have had in the past. We tried them and they have not worked. The middle class is just a joke to them, because of their corporate masters, they could not care less about you and/or me.
Wake up!
C'mon. It's not like FOX NEWS went on the air in front of millions of people with forged and faked National Guard documents in an attempt to destroy the re-election chances of a president, like some famous LIBERAL network and newsman did a few years back.
If you'll recall, Dan Rather lost pretty much everything over that. CBS News took a major hit in credibility. At the very least, Breitbart and Fox News should suffer similar ramifications.
CU Farley
as usual you are trying to devert attention from the primary story. this is not about something that happened 4 years ago, this is about Shirley Sherrod. just like when the tea party put up the signs with obama, hitler and lennon, you diverted the attention to the new black panther party. Farley just stop and let people give there post about Shirley Sherrod and not any thing else. some one was out to cause a major problem for this woman, the NAACP and the administration. i have a idea who but with out proof i will not say.
OK CU, you're OK with destroying ordinary people to make political points. Thanks for making that clear.
On that point, multiple people lost their jobs, some their careers? Who's going to make sure that the people who ran with this never work again?
Oh, and there's still no person who will say they saw GWB serve in the AL ANG and no documents to show that he was there.
So how is the NAACP saying that the TEA Party is a racist group without any proof? You people honestly say that the NAACP don't have racist people in their group? Please..................there racist people in EVERY group, even religious groups, look at REV Wright and I'm sure there's a white racist REV too.
I did watch Glen Beck yesterday and I honestly think it was a good show. I don't like Glen Beck, I don't like Madow or Kieth. But back to Beck, he acually support the lady that got fired. Why would the White House tell her to resign in fear of Glen Beck???? I saw the interview on CNN, The White House is affraid of FOX. That is a sign of WEAKNESS!!! Obama will talk to Iran, but not FOX? This is why Obama is not a leader. Give me ONE example of what Obama lead in his life time.
Paul, are the signs, the racist statements by tea party attendees, and the bogus letter to Abraham Lincoln by a tea party leader proof?
As far as Beck is concerned he gets credit for fast footwork. On his radio show he blasted her as a racist. By air time for the TV show the truth was out ahd he shifted his story. Doesn't make him less culpable as he is one of the main boosters of Andrew Breitbart.
CU Farley, Dan Rather lost his job because of that. unlike the world you seem to live in, actions have consequences. nice to see you have the incredible ability to change the talking point, you also tend to look foolish in the process. so basically, to make things fair, someone at Fox needs to go in order to match your little comparison? sounds good to me. of course, someone being held accountable at Fox would be the fault of the Liberal Media.
you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about half the time.
CU FARLEY,
Yea Rather and CBS took a hit over that, however, I don't recall those documents of Bush's service ever surfacing, so where are they?
While on topic of taking hits for fabricating stuff, what about faux news and this story about the video being editied and played numerously on the station?
Terry,
I guess there with Obama's Birth Cetrificate.....................No I'm not a birther either..........
Paul-Florida,
Since a lot of folks have already accepted what was supplied and the state of Hawaii certifying that the birth happened. I go with that.
Since I served in the Army, I know exactly where all service records are, and since this period of service was during an armed conflict, I am curious if the man was AWOL, that is why I mentioned that and I suppose since you mentioned the birth certificate you are the same way.
CU Farley, likes to spew the mantra of faux news and they claim to be fair and balanced and yet here we are, the pulled a Dan Rather with this and yet they still claim fair and balanced. I am just merely pointing out that.
Terry,
I reponded to you before but it didn't post.............................I think you asked me if I defended somebody, my answer is "NO" but I also don't think he did anything wrong. My opinion...........
I also reponded to the racial remark about a Mick to that effect...................Yes it can be a racial term if it's said by another person of color. Like the term Cracker, it's used in a racial way right? either way calling someone a name on here is plan stupid. It makes that person look stupid. Will I ever call someone a name? Maybe, maybe not, but this site is Left/Far Left and I know this.
On a side note, I was at Camp Dodge off and on for the last 3 months training/teaching the Guard. Stayed in Johnson, nice area.
Paul,
Let's try something new, the facts. You state: "So how is the NAACP saying that the TEA Party is a racist group without any proof? You people honestly say that the NAACP don't have racist people in their group?"
1. The head of the NAACP never, I repeat never said that the Tea Party is a racist group. Just because Rush, Hannity, Beck et al claim that is what Ben Jealous said does not make it true. Mr. Jealous made it clear in his speech at the convention, and in every interview afterward, that he did not believe the Tea Party groups (there is no one centralized group) were racists organizations. In other words he specifically didn't say what you claim he did.
2. Ben Jealous said that there are fringe members who have espoused hateful racist views in the name of the Tea Party, and at Tea Party events, and he called upon the leaders of the various Tea Party organizations to denounce these things when they occur. How is that wrong? Shouldn't an organization that holds a rally denounce a person who brings a vile racist sign, or posts a vile racist message, or pays money to put up a vile hateful (and most would say racist) billboard? How is it wrong to ask the leaders to denounce the fringe element?
3. With respect to proof that fringe Tea Party members have espoused racist views, there have been numerous examples. Ironically days after Mr. Jealous made the remark the North East Iowa Tea Party group put up a vile anti-Obama billboard that was criticized by other Tea Party groups, and as a result it was taken down in less than a week. A Tea Party organizer posted a vile hateful "open letter" to Abraham Lincoln asking that blacks become slaves again, and national Tea Party leaders denounced him. These are just two incidents that happened after Mr. Jealous' speech. The incidents of vile hateful racist actions and displays by fringe Tea party members prior to Mr, Jealous' speech are over whelming and well documented.
4. No one has ever claimed that no member of the NAACP is not a racist, that would be a crazy position to take, especially given its membership numbers. However the reason the NAACP was so quick (premature) to denounce Sherrod was because the editted speech happened at an local NAACP event.
With respect to Beck "actually support the lady that got fired" on last nights show. You don't see the irony in your remarks. Yes after CNN exposed the lie behind the edited tape Fox played repeatedly othe day before, and used it as proof that the Obama WH sanctions reverse racism, instead of ignoring what happened, or admitting their role, Fox has the audacity to blame the WH for firing Sherrod, after Fox, knowingly falsely labeled her as a racist!
There was a real, live ex-National Guard secretary who told anyone who asked what slacker Bush was!
Hawkeye,
Read this article, it's from NPR. Yes, you're correct in the fact that he said that it's not a racist group as a WHOLE. Kind of like that the New Black Panther is not all racist either right???? Love to hear that answer. Maybe one of them might try to KILL one of my CRACKER Babies!!! You think? Never read someone from the TEA Party say they're going to kill someone of color now did you, but two wrongs don't make a right? I don't recall seeing that story on MSNBC, maybe they did.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128505089
"1. The head of the NAACP never, I repeat never said that the Tea Party is a racist group. Just because Rush, Hannity, Beck et al claim that is what Ben Jealous said does not make it true. Mr. Jealous made it clear in his speech at the convention, and in every interview afterward, that he did not believe the Tea Party groups (there is no one centralized group) were racists organizations. In other words he specifically didn't say what you claim he did."
The billboard is not racist, freedom of speech. I think Obama is a Socialist. Funny that billboard had two white loons next to him. But I guess the picture of Bush imposed as a chimp is funny? It didn't bother me, but what bothers me that you think there's only one side of the story. But hey, Bush is old news right or is it?
2. "Ironically days after Mr. Jealous made the remark the North East Iowa Tea Party group put up a vile anti-Obama billboard that was criticized by other Tea Party groups"
Yes, you're correct the NAACP jump the gun. Now let me ask you did you see the whole video??? Do you know that she voilated the Hatch Law?? Look it up and let me know if she did so. Do you know she sued the very own position she works for before she got hired for 300K?
4. No one has ever claimed that no member of the NAACP is not a racist, that would be a crazy position to take, especially given its membership numbers. However the reason the NAACP was so quick (premature) to denounce Sherrod was because the editted speech happened at an local NAACP event.
*** No one looks good here: The most recent example -- an Agriculture Department employee apparently giving a racist speech before the NAACP, the Obama administration firing this employee, but it turns out that the speech was actually a positive one -- doesn’t make anyone look good. The Ag Department (which dismissed the employee, but is now reexamining the matter), the White House (which is always quick to jettison anyone under conservative fire, especially when it comes to race), or the NAACP (which, after its spat with the Tea Party over race, condemned her speech but has taken it back). But those who look the worst here are the news media. Any credible journalist or journalistic organization given an edited video would want to see the full context, right? Especially if you know the source has an agenda, right? Yet the same questions could be asked of the White House. How did an administration that complains so much about the 24-7 media culture -- often correctly, we might add -- act without knowing all the facts?
______________________________________________
First Read, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS???
The ONLY bad actors here are Andrew Breitbart and the Satan channel, Fox News!!!!!!
Everyone else is an innocent victim.
Get with the program!!!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joe:
But you forget, Joe, the corporate media must always allocate blame equally to all sides of an issue, and blame the victims as much as the criminals who committed the crime. That's exactly what the First Read people did with this hoax. It's what so-called journalits have deluded themselves into believing the word "objectivity" means.
Was too busy to post yesterday, but checked out the Kagan thred and all I can say is wow! There are some real crazy, nasty, fascist, hypocritcal, homophobic, racist, right wing nut jobs in this country! What happened? Did Bachman round up her interns and make them start posting to first read?
All I could think of Pat, was them sitting at their computers in white sheets with their guns next to them and crosses hanging from their necks!
As I said yesterday a permanent solution to the tea bagger's would be if they shot each others b@lls off! It's not like they use them for anything constructive anyway...
Good Riddance!
PatHunigton,
They were out in droves yesterday that is for sure.
Pat,
I think what happened is that MSNBC used the Kagan story as their headliner on their main page, every time they do that the floodgates open and we are deluged with the nut cases that should be institutionalized. I was totally dismayed to see that many people that were THAT misinformed and like you said, real crazy, nasty, fascist, hypocritical, homophobic, racist, right wing nut jobs! It is a bit scry that these people actually walk the streets, let alone post here!
Good morning B.Honest.
The Kagan post was something to behold yesterday. You could actually feel the hate in the posts. A lot of new faces (most right wingers) yesterday. Makes you wonder where they all came from all of a sudden????
It is scary to think not only are these people walking the streets, some may be in postions of authority as well and shaping the minds of our young folks and teaching them to think and act as they do. That is really scary.
Nah, the people shaping minds are the left wing progressive liberals in our schools, and I went to a midwest university. Actually, I am beginning to miss the days of Bill Clinton, at least he wasn't so progressive.
so Dustin, are you in support of a new slogan?
We don't need no stinking Progress! Retrograde! Retrograde! Gooooooooooo Backwards!
Clara if you think expanding government is progress than you are without hope.
Dustin, I would be perfectly happy to scale back the Department of Defense to make sure all Americans have Food, Shelter and Medical Care.
Signed,
Hopeful in KC
Clara
Food , shelter, and medical care? Free? Provided by the government instead of giving it to the defense contractors?
You know what your opposition would say about that notion, behind closed doors anyway. "Feed them, shelter them, doctor them, and all you're going to get is more of them."
Okay, Paul, hat tip to your sense of humor!
Heaven forbid the register as Democrats to keep the gravy train rolling. I just think it is appalling that people in this country are not receiving cancer treatments even today - and so many kids go hungry.
We shouldn't be discussing Race at this stage; but rather HOW do we break the poverty cycle - which is color blind!
Shame on any thinkiing person who EVER believes this idiot (Breitbart) again. Sec Vilsak is gonna have to BEG this woman to come back to her job, and still I'm not sure if I was in her shoes that I would. Prez Obama owes her an apology, too. Fox "News" has proven, yet again, that they are NOT a news org.
Independant Woman,
I agree. There a a lot of people that owe that lady an apology. Unfortunately her career has been damaged to the point that I doubt she we come back to that job if asked. I hope she sues the hell out of FOX and Breitbart. We have now broken into the zone where if anybody is accused of racism (whether it be true or false) is now assumed to be guilty unless proven innocent way beyond any reasonable doubt. Too bad, the country has taken a step backward on this issue.
It should point out to intelligent people the damage that certain organizations can do with the help of the media with no liability on their side for the lies that destroy lives. I am sure that as this developes that Breitbart and FOX will claim the first amendment, they did nothing wrong that as David Gregory said we do not fact check anything, it is up to the viewers to tell fact from fiction.
I hate to take the wind out of your sails, USN Vet, but there was a case in the early 2000's that basically stated that the news media cannot be legally liable for any misinformation that they put out. I can't get the name of the case, but it involved WTVT, a Fox Broadcasting affiliate.
EDIT: Here we go. It's New World Communs. of Tampa, Inc. v. Akre.
USNDV
You had me until you mentioned David Gregory.
Anyone who has the forum to bring light into a discussion by questioning the factual validity of statements, but does NOT time and time again, is not worthy of a quote that he does not in practice follow.
That was kind of a messy sentence, but you get my point.
The onus of this controversy is on Fox news and Breitbart. By using the term "the whitehouse", all who reported it confered upon the President some guilt for the fallout. Do any of you honestly believe that Obama himself was briefed on this before that fallout began? Seems to me he was busy with PM Cameron for a good portion of the day when this controversy was fueled. Using the term "administration" is probably more accurate, thus spreading guilt amongst a whole, well, administration. To narrow this further, how about USDAg, I'm sure Vilsack has the power to hire and fire, and who knows what the hell he was doing yesterday.
Terminology is yet another ploy used by detractors (Fox, republicans) to drive responsibility for anything and everything home to Obama.
I believe in absolutes; truth is truth, lies are lies, right is right, and wrong is wrong. Those who attempt to blur the lines fool no one but themselves, well, unless you're Fox News, or a republican running for re-election, or a crook, or a thief, or if you work on wall street, or ......
Ollie: Very good post. They do try to blur the lines, and of course, they are never, never, never responsible for anything.
People give racist speeches before the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People all the time. So this one proved to be a little "iffy". So what? The important thing is that the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People is now being called out for it's years of race-baiting and false charges of racism that have destroyed careers.
When will they apologize and fire some people for the TV ad run against Bush in the 2000 election?
A simple test....If Sherrod were white and a republican, no matter how long ago the speech was made and whatever the content, would she be allowed to keep her job? Hell no. We all know how it works. By the way, is Jeremiah Wright a member of the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People?
"Iffy?" There was NO racism in Shirley Sherrod's speech relating a story from 24 years ago. In fact, the white couple publically defended her and said she "saved their farm".
Shame on you for being as gullible as Breitbart and FOX believes you are.
Thanks Jody, CU clearly will defend the Right even when it destroys his on cred – what little there is.
Iffy? There was nothing iffy about that speech CU and you know it. The theme of Shirley Sherrod's speech was this simple--we can all let prejudice color our actions, but if we fight that tendency we'll discover that people really are good, really are all the same. You're making excuses for the New Southern Strategy. You're enabling a new increase in racial hatred. I hope it makes you proud.
U know this how?
That was to fairly.
Just wondering how many of those meetings he attended.
CU Farley
People give racist speeches before the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People all the time. So this one proved to be a little "iffy". So what? The important thing is that the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People is now being called out for it's years of race-baiting and false charges of racism that have destroyed careers.
farley you Dumb Irish Mick, the NAACP has been around longer than you and who made you the expert on the NAACP you need to go the the Bar then the confessional.
last week we had this discussion on how you love to high lite the colored part of the nations oldest Civil right organization.
Jeff,
LOLOLOL, this story is about racial and you have a blogger that uses a racial term to defend that he's not a racist!!!!!! CLASSIC!!
Jeff, this is my new favorite post by far!!!!
"farley you Dumb Irish Mick, the NAACP has been around longer than you and who made you the expert on the NAACP you need to go the the Bar then the confessional."
MSNBC is fair too????? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, less we forget:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-19823-Progressive-Examiner~y2009m8d20-MSNBC-lies-edits-out-black-gun-owner-says-white-people-showing-up-with-guns-threaten-Obama
There's plenty more on both FOX and MSNBC........................I don't understand that you people think the MSNBC only tell the truth, now that's funny!!
Paul, perhaps you need additional resources to understand Jeff's post. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sarcasm
So Paul, do you defend Breitbart or not? This isn't an issue you can shade.
CU Farley
YEARS OF RACE BAITING. your crazy, the NAACP has been pretty quite untill the tea party allowed SOME ofg there members to display racist signs, spit of black law makers and call them NI**ers. now what kind of race baiting is the NAACP doing.
so you consider race baiting calling out the tea party, i guess the NAACP was race baiting when they went after the klan for lynching, cross burning, church bombings(remember the 3 little girls who were killed on a sunday in church) is this what you call race baiting, or when the Nazi wanted to march in Skokie IL ( a community that has a large jewish Population, many were holocost survivers. is this what you call race baiting. or when mahalis Jackson bought a house on the south side of chicago in 1955 and whites threatened to burn her house down and the NAACP went to old man daley to help with police protection, and lets not forget emmitt Till, remember him, the NAACP helped get his uncle out of Mississippi so he could testify against the Klan that killed him a 13 year old BOY!!!
farley like i said before you a dumb Irish man!!!!! just think back in the day, whites treated Irish people the same ways they treated blacks, you should be ashamed of your self. as long as guys like you exist the NAACPs job will never be done.
CU Farley,
Are you out of your mind? Do you understand what the NAACP stand for? This organization is 101 years old and has been fighting for racial equality for all people, not just Blacks, but all people. You really need to take off the sheet, open your eyes and your heart and get rid of the hate you have.
I have many Black, white & latino friends, and one thing I know is that we all have our prejudices about one another. But nonetheless, in the open forum, especially if you're going to hold a public office, prejudices have no place. I was born in a latin american country, so that makes me an immigrant. My great-great grandmother was a black slave from the Virgin Islands, and my grandfather's parents were of German descent. I know I'm not alone when I say that "I'm sick and tired that the main stream media has nothing better to do, but keep bringing the race card." We need to urge the government to go after and disband any group that only wants to help "their own kind" starting with the NAACP. We should have the FBI go after them just like they go after the KKK. They're no different in that they only want to help a group of people because of the color of their skin. Come on.!
I don't think Sheryl Sherrod should have been forced to resigned, but apologize, and move on. Oh, by the way am neither a democrat nor republican, I'm an Independent. I didn't like the last administration and I don't like current one either. I'm not an anarchist, nor do I believe that government should try to take over and run many of the things they've already taken over. That's just the road to Totaliarism and history will tell you, that leads to Marxism/Communism. I'm a true believer in the Constitution. That's the reason my parents came to the U.S.A. when I was a kid. The Constitution give us all equal rights regardless. When I read many of the blogs, I just think to myself, how childish, no one's acting like an adult here. People, let's keep all in perspective. Don't believe everything you watch on TV. Do your own research. We have computers now for God's sake.! And the thru it you can do a million searches thru Google or any of the many search engines.
Here, let me give you all a few clues to Google: Progressives, George Soros, Deutche Bank, Bill Ayers, PetroBra, The new Black Panthers, ....... also look into the following link
http://homeownerrevolution.com/
Veritas,
How Objective and Indpendent minded of you to volunteer your neutrality to us all.
Snark meter set off the charts,...Didn't Chris Matthews feature you recently in an expose?
Veritas-2010
I can see you did not see this post, it was right before yours.
Are you out of your mind? Do you understand what the NAACP stand for? This organization is 101 years old and has been fighting for racial equality for all people, not just Blacks, but all people.
Veritas-2010
so what your saying is that the NAACP only helps people of as you said their own kind". so you realise that the NAACP does help every body that is in need. Not just black, but that is what you want to believe that your opinion, but your opinion is dead wrong.
i like you have a very diverse back ground, my great great grand father was a irish slave owner, my fathers grand father was a american Indian. i would like for you to tell me what churches the NAACP has burned down, or how many whites they have lynched. you have compaired the NAACP to the Klan. its very simple that many people feel threatned by the NAACP and i don't understand why? they don't make laws, they don't inforce laws, all they do is point out racial injustices. what is the government going to go after them for, speaking there minds, pointing out mean rasict acts by the tea party, (ptitting in a black law makers face, calling them NI**ers) what please explain to me what the federal government is going to do to the NAACP, what.
what bothers me is that in the year 2010 many people are coming to the defence of the tea party, why,
i also would remind you that NAACP workers in the 60s were jailed, beaten, murdered all for CIVIL RIGHTS!!!! the group you are saying the feds needs to go after has been in the pits fighting for your civil right long before you and i were born. having black friends does not make a difference when it somes to being tolorant to others.
my father who grew up in mississippi was best friend with a white kid whos father was a member of the klan, I'm sure this kid if had listioned to his father would have said the same as you in your openning.
CU Farley
Do you understand what the main message of the NAACP? Racial equality for all, not just one race, but all races and genders. If a white person gave this speech and it was edited to look racists, people would still want the truth. The difference being I doubt Fox would play it over and over again. Fox ws looking to score some points period. Racism is a ugly thing and the unfortunate thing is that its spreads through igorance and fear. By the way the Constitution when originally written didn't include Blacks as people. It counted them as a third of a person. luckily Lincoln and really Johnson who was impeached by the way for actually freeing all the slaves. The KKK has been and always will be a sticking point for most whites because of their views. Unfortunately, w/ racism you don't have to be a bigot to act like one.
Shirley Sherrod. As the afternoon wore on, my anger and frustration level increased. I am pleased that Vilsack and the WH are reconsidering and investigating this incident. My thought is their anger and frustration level increased along with mine.
When and how did the right wing conservatives determine that it, in the game of politics, it is perfectly fine to choose a private citizen, edit a speech--in which she was talking about reconciliation and her realization that her job was about all poor people, that it was not about black, white or hispanic--and publically destroy that person with falsehoods? What evil monsters people like Breitbart are and they are aided in their evil plots by every FOX host who ran with it.
What have we become in this country when perpetrators of such outrageous and false attacks go unpunished? Shame on those who take pleasure in hurting others for no one reason that political gain; and shame on anyone who defends such attacks as part of the "game."
See, I'm still frustrated this morning. I meant: no other reason than for political gain.
Good Morning Jody: As I heard the truth come out regarding Shirley Sherrod, it made me angry. How low will the Fox News go to discredit this woman. What convinced me she was innocent was when the old white farmer and his wife told their side of the story. Fox News is lower than whale sh!t on the bottom of the sea.
I hear you and that's a good description! Both Countdown and Rachel ran some of the unedited speech--it was so opposite from what Breitbart and FOX did.
It is my guess that Shirley Sherrod will receive many job offers from the private sector and perhaps a few from state and federal departments, if she rejects the possible invitation to return to the USDA, and perhaps if she doesn't. Some of these will carry better satisfaction and higher salaries. The USDA will have lost a valuable employee due to the knee-jerk reaction in demanding her resignation, and Shirley Sherrod will be better off. I hope her new employers appreciate her more than her old ones did.
So........one wonders how often FOX has really lied? We know of two instances - I have seen a lot more than that. I watch Fox news and most of all the others (what else is on TV worth watching these days?) and I have observed quite often where they have edited a talking point because I saw the talking point on other channels and what was really said. My husband (Republican) has also mentioned this too. That's why we do not hold much credence to Fox News.
One that comes in mind was on Hannity's show where he showed a clip where President Obama says I do hate Republicans. Poor little Hannity asked his group "Why does Obama hate Republicans"? and off they went with their pathetic discussion. Prior to this I saw the REAL clip on LOCAL NEWS where the President said "I do not hate Republicans".
I think Sherrod should sue Breitbart and Fox Noise. There has to be a case here for defamation of character or something similar. I'm sure that Sherrod can show that she not only suffered the obvious, losing her job, but that she suffered emotional distress and the fact that her character has been damaged by the obvious misinterpreations, half-truths and lies that were put forward by both Breitbart and Fox Noise. If unable to sue the network then she should go after O'Reilly, Ingram or any other individual who pushed the story. My bet is that these folks would settle and at least Sherrod would get some kind of monetary relief.
The recent behavior of Fox Noise and their henchemen/women, the tea party members, the Republicans in Congress and others on the right is a symptom of desparation. Things are not turning out as they would like. Their lies, half-truths and attempts to topple Obama and his administration using hateful backwards logic thinking are back-firing on them in many ways. And the more desparate they get the more insane they get, the more demented and sick their comments and behavior become, and the more people begin to reject them as anything but desparate wacky nut cases. It is really an interesting study on how not to influence people as we watch these groups and individuals implode. If not so sad it would make a damn good comedy.
CA: Excellent comment! I think we are seeing the same Rovian tactics that were used when Bush went after McCain in 04, and McCain tried to use on Obama in 08. Those tactics don't work as well as they used to. Sherrod should sue Fox and Breitbart for kagillions.
Terrific comment.
I hope she does sue both Breitbart and every FOX host who reported it along with Rupert Murdock personally for every dime they have. It would be about time that someone went after the daily purveyors of hate and fear.
CA, Tuscaloosa, AL
I think Sherrod should sue Breitbart and Fox Noise. There has to be a case here for defamation of character or something similar. I'm sure that Sherrod can show that she not only suffered the obvious, losing her job, but that she suffered emotional distress and the fact that her character has been damaged by the obvious misinterpreations, half-truths and lies that were put forward by both Breitbart and Fox Noise. If unable to sue the network then she should go after O'Reilly, Ingram or any other individual who pushed the story. My bet is that these folks would settle and at least Sherrod would get some kind of monetary relief.
The recent behavior of Fox Noise and their henchemen/women, the tea party members, the Republicans in Congress and others on the right is a symptom of desparation. Things are not turning out as they would like. Their lies, half-truths and attempts to topple Obama and his administration using hateful backwards logic thinking are back-firing on them in many ways. And the more desparate they get the more insane they get, the more demented and sick their comments and behavior become, and the more people begin to reject them as anything but desparate wacky nut cases. It is really an interesting study on how not to influence people as we watch these groups and individuals implode. If not so sad it would make a damn good comedy.
Shouldn't she be suing the government (again) for wrongful dismissal? You are quick to jump on a news organization but ignore the fact that this administration fired this woman apparently with no investigation. My only question is, if she's done nothing wrong why did she agree to resign? If it was me I would have fought and they would have to have fired me. This is a strange aspect of this story. BTW She sued the USDA before.
Alan, does Fox bear any responsibility for leaning hard on a phony story in order to produce heat on the Administration? If the Dept of Ag offers her job back there is no wrongful dismissal--but the lie that created it still exists.
Where do you stand on this Alan?
Alan, NJ:
She could sue the government for wrongful discharge to get reinstated to her job and perhaps receive back pay for the days lost if she were to be reinstated. and if the reinstatement was ordered to take place beginning the first day of her termination. But that is about it. It is diffcult to sue the government, and almost impossible to sue any government manager as an individual, and there is normally very little monetary reward if any beyond back pay awarded in such cases. Government managers are protected and in most cases you cannot sue a government manager as an individual.
No, if one were to sting someone good for defaming one's character or having a part in the events that led to one's character being defamed and resulting in the loss of their job, the people to sue would be those who supplied misinformation and who are not government managers and who have lots of money.
Much depends on what the person injured desires. If money go after O'Reilly, Ingram, Fox Noise, etc. If simply to get one's job back sue the government for wrongful discharge. If both sue both. If to simply attempt to repair one's character, forget it,. You may satisfy yourself personally if you win such a case but as it relates to how others perceive you the damage is already done.
From what I read here, Shirley Sherrod doesn't seem like the kind of person to sue, even if she could. Most likely she will receive many offers from lawyers who pursue every opportunity. She is a team player, a "company woman," who resigned when her boss demanded it of her, even when she knew she was being wronged. Maybe it was the act of a person who knew the federal bureaucracy better that most of us.
Absence of Malice. Sue away. You think they don't know that they're protected.
BTW she actually sued the government successfully before.
But I ask why did she agree to resign and why was she pushed so quickly? There's more to this story.
Your guess is as good as mine Alan. Does not take away some responsibility here on both some of the media's part (Fox Noise) and their purveyors of half-truths, untruths O'Reilly, Ingram and the like and whatever government official terminated her.
As far as why did she resign? It is rare when a government employee is asked to tender their resignation, that they do not do so. (think "Heck of a job Brownie") In reality it is a matter of semantics, the employer (here the government) is giving the employee the opportunity to resign so they are able to claim they weren't fired.
As far as suing the government for wrongful termination, there is no such cause of action against the federal government. She was an employee at will, and could be terminated (or forced to resign) for any reason except an illegal reason. An illegal reason would be race, age, physical disability, etc. The USDA wrongly believing she said racist remarks at an NAACP event is not cause for a wrongful termination lawsuit, even though the USDA was wrong in its belief.
As far as whether she could sue Fox for making the claim that she had given a racist speech would depend on facts not known right now. If it could be proven that the producers (directors etc) at Fox knew that the full speech proved the excerpt was not a racist rant, but part of a beautiful story about her realizing that it is about helping the poor not skin color, and they intentionally put a misleading (false portrayal) clip of the speech to make it appear that Sherrod was a reverse racist, then she would have a cause of action against Fox. But if Fox just accepted the clip from Breitbart, and did not know the full speech shows that Sherrod is the opposite of how they portrayed her, then Sherrod wouldn't succeed in a suit against Fox.
And then there is the issue of damages. In all likelihood she'll be offered her job back with full pay, and have zero economic damages. If she doesn't take her job back, she wouldn't be able to claim lost wages because she had the opportunity to have her job back. No doubt she has gone through emotional hell over the last 48 hours but what is the value of that hell? And in an odd twist of fate, CNN exposing the truth has caused her not only to be shown as a sympathetic person, but also someone most people now admire, which is a positive.
I intended to post a comment or two about the Sherrod incident but after CU Farley and Joe from Albany let loose with their concise rendition and undeniably coherent post on the subject, I just decided to have a good laugh instead. Thanks guys.
Thousands of people and organizations were “snookered” by the Sherrod video and over reacted as a result. What is extended to one should be extended to all, be it a pass or criticism, with no exceptions, excuse and most certainly regardless of race or party affiliation. Anything to the contrary is hypocrisy and discrimination.
I have 2 responses for you:
1.) Bull
2.) @!$%#
The blame lies with the person who TOLD THE LIE. Not with the people who initially believe the lie. Not with the people who spread the lie thinking it was the truth. Let me say it again.
The blame lies with the person who TOLD THE LIE.
Saying it doesn't basically means the cops can arrest you for owning a PS3 that you bought from a pawn shop, then the pawn shop owner because he bought it from a guy, then arrest that guy because his brother gave it to him, then arrest the brother because he bought it from a friend at school, then arrest the friend because that friend stole it from a house a couple of weeks ago.
Get it?
No one in this chain of events is to blame except the guy who STOLE the PS3.
One more time:
No one in this scenario is to blame except the guy who TOLD THE LIE. The right wing is supposedly all about personal accountability, right? Well, why don't you start with jackasses like O' Keefe who commit CRIMES and then get applauded for it by the right because they don't like the target. Why don't you hold pricks like Breitbart accountable for their personal behavior?
If you want a certain political outcome, fine. Debate the issues. Support candidates. Prove that your ideas are superior. But stop cheering for CRIMINALS because their crimes target people you disagree with politically.
But of course if there is a way to blame President Obama in all this, they'll do it. No one likes to look in the mirror.
So there's no blame for the official who accepted the lie on face value and demanaded her resignation?
I don't defend them for firing before all the facts were known, but that's just a diversion. The ultimate responsibility is with Breitbart, Fox, and all the other stars of the rightwing universe who ran with the story because it suited their "black racist" and "incompetent government" storylines. They're not only the originators of the lie and thus ultimately responsible, they're also the ones that turned a simple untruth into pressure on the Administration for immediate action.
FR:
No it's not; it's the Senate. If there were majority rule, the Republicans wouldn't have the filibuster to constantly abuse. More people call themselves conservatives than liberals in opinion polls, but when people are asked about specific issues, they tend to be more evenly split between conservative and progressive positions. The Republicans have just done a bang-up job on pushing the conservative label and associating the word "liberal" with bad things it never stood for.
Spot on, Houston. FR got it wrong--the Senate and its anti-constitutional 60 votes IS the problem, not democrats or the WH.
Oh, how familiar this story is. Don't show the entire video because you want to incite a certain response....hmmm. Didn't Los Angeles burn over a similar situation. The media only showed a short, inciting, portion of the video and the next thing you know, there are riots, looting, buildings being burned, people having their heads caved in by rioters with bricks. And to think, no one got punished for that.
I believe the whole point of the video was to show all the rooting and cheering when she made the statement that she had screwed over a white farmer. Not that she had done so, she had come to a realization concerning her previous actions. It's the fact that the entire audience was applauding her previous actions. To me that is racism on any level.
While one group of stereo-typical population is being singled out and led to the slaughter house, the people who are leading them are practicing their own bias towards them. Isn't that in fact racism also? Do you have to be white to be a racist? Are blacks the only victims of racism? Why are there only "white, not Latino" categories in employment applications? Why are there not "German/American" options? Or Italian/American, Chinese/American, Vietnamese/American?
Why can't the options simply state the country from which you were born? If we only care about that, what would be the issue?
I am getting off track. Here is another time when those that are in power are so anxious to make a statement; they forget that the facts are there for the taking. Even a Judge doesn't make a decision until he/she has researched all of the facts and other cases of similarity and made his decision on FACTUAL and CORRECT information. Not biased or politically motivated information.
I laugh when the media claims they have special rights under the law. A journalist and photographer were asked why they did not help a man who poured gasoline on himself and set himself on fire. We are here to report the news and not get involved. The problem with that is when "how" you report an event either incites or disgusts the "normal" person, there should be consequences. Depending on who you have on the bench will determine if or how much of the liability you will face.
What stories are printed in the newspaper? Those that the editor feels will sell papers. So sad that the only stories that sell papers are those that are "Sensational". A celebrity rants and raves on a tape that is mostly bleeps, that's sensational? A young drug addict and alcoholic girl goes to jail because she doesn't do what she was ordered to do, that's sensational? If so, then why do we not look for that locally in our own communities? We as a nation are so hell-bent on what others are doing or thinking of us that we have looked away from reality and morals. We look to people who make a living by being someone else we fail to see who they really are. People, just like us. We all make mistakes. However, we all do not learn from them. Some of us keep making the same mistakes over and over and over. Yet we get rewarded for it and the people love them. Oh he or she has made amends, its okay now.
What we are really showing our children is that we who try our best to be the best that we are capable of doing and try to be responsible in the eyes of the community of supposedly "normal" people, are penalized for doing so and made to "pay" for all those who "cannot control themselves". We are told it's not their fault; they were brought up that way. BULL. We all have the power within ourselves to make decisions, that's what free will is all about. We are definitely in trouble when we do not hold those that break the laws of God, mankind, and society, accountable for their actions. Some we do, but to a lesser degree than what "normal people" require for retribution. Think about those questions I stated above. Are we really a nation of free people? Free to think what we will, free to say what we will? No, if what you say, think, or do insult another person, regardless of the "normal" person rule, you are wrong! The normal person rule does not apply when the majority, albeit a specific group of people, are involved.
That is exactly why LIBERALS run from the word and want to be called PROGRESSIVE when most doesn't even know what it stands for.
Since 2000 we have seen the word explode but the people are still the same; LIBERAL.
ITM: I'm a little perplexed by the word "liberal" myself. From what I understand is the make up of the Democratic Party is that there are progressives (who are the majority) and liberals. These two groups have different philosophies from what I can gather. I always thought I was liberal (and proud of it), but I'm not too sure anymore. It's confusing.
And I don't know if progressives constitute "the left". But liberals do?
I honestly don't know.
Ok...how about this
Democrats - Progressives
Republicans - Regressives
I think Shirley Sherrod has the correct perspective on the whole matter.
She has stated that her dismissal was a direct result of the NAACP vendetta against the Tea Party organizations. The NAACP's ill-advised effort to paint the Tea Party movement as racist, when that movement's primary focus has always been (and continues to be) the size and scope of government and government spending, has created the present environment. It's merely one more part of a long effort to paint legitimate political opposition to the Obama agenda as being motivated by racism.
Problem is, if you go too far down that road, and you begin to eat your own.
Shirley Sherrod apparently understands exactly what happened to her.
MB, where to you stand on Breitbart, Fox News, and the whole range of Conservative talkers taking up this cause and smearing an innocent woman?
Either you're for it or you're against it. On this one there is no in between.
Where do you stand on the Administration's firing of Shirley Sherrod, John? Did they behave responsibly?
Maybe you should consider the real root cause of what happened. Sherrod certainly has.
The NAACP "is the reason this happened. They got into a fight with the tea party, and all this came as a result of it." -Shirley Sherrod, speaking to CNN, 7/21/2010-
Who are you going to believe?
Yes, I'm upset that the Administration jumped the gun and fired her before having all the facts.
Are you upset with the Breitbart and Co. for creating lies out of an inspiring story in order to further a racist narrative?
Either you're fore it or you're against it. On this one there is no in between.
John-
I don't believe any media entity should run with a story before they have the pertinent facts. That would include MSNBC's initial coverage of this event, by the way.
But context is important, John...Sherrod (correctly) believes that the charges of racism leveled against the Tea Party movement by the NAACP led to her dismissal. The environment created by those unfair and disproportionate accusations led to the Obama Administration acting in a reflexive manner.
That is the consequence of labeling legitimate political dissent as racist in a blatantly cynical fashion.
Don't like the outcome...?
Stop doing it.
In other words, people should never stand up for what they believe to be right because the other side might do something sleazy and evil to innocent people if they do?
Glad to know where you stand on this sort of thing, MB.
No, Michael-
What I said was that legitimate political dissent should not be labeled as racism in a cynical attempt to gain some sort of political leverage.
If you consider that to be appropriate behavior, then I guess I know where you stand as well.
No, what you said was that we should basically ignore the the fact that someone punched her in the face in lieu of the guy over there, because the guy over there pissed the guy who punched her in the face off enough to punch her in the face.
That is basically the argument you are making.
People OWN their own actions. Breitbart doctored the tape. He posted the tape knowing it would get wide coverage. He could make a reasonable prediction that doctoring the tape and posting it would destroy a woman's life. We don't need to blame thousands of people.
We can blame, you know, the guy who actually DID it.
Or we can ignore him and blame other people because they pissed Breitbart off enough to do it and, well, if you piss off someone the one you piss off obviously no longer has any personal accountability for his behavior.
Your choice.
I prefer to listen to Shirley Sherrod on the matter.
She's said who she blames.
I'll take her word for it.
You believe whatever you like, Michael...your choice.
OK MB, you don't feel it's appropriate to blame Breitbart for perpetrating this lie, or Fox News and the Conservative talkers for spreading it immediately.
Now we know where you stand. Thanks for playing.
It seems to me that the right are twisting the fact, the NAACP said that there are elements of racist within the Tea party... which is true, ala Mark Williams - someone on the right please defend this poor soul. On the other hand, the right went after an innocent woman to smear NAACP...
...So it's simple really, the NAACP proved it was right by the dismissal of Tea Party Express leader, Mark Williams; while on the other hand, a Tea Party member smeared an innocent woman in all falsehood.
ABSOLUTELY PATHETIC...
So, MB, retaliation is a justifiable cause? And is there no small amount of irony to your argument since a faction of the Tea Party group were asked to leave the larger group?
You make NO SENSE and it does indeed sound like you think she is blaming the NAACP. I don't think she is blaming them, she is correctly identifying the source of the Breitbart ANGLE,...not that it is right or wrong.
RETALIATION is a piss poor motive for ruining someone's career; but as with all things 'conservative' the ends justify the means, don't they?
Mixed Bag. listen to Sherrod's actual comments, she believes that the right wing retaliated against the NAACP for Mr. Jealous' comments, she was not indicating anything he said was wrong, or the actions of the right wing was ok, just that this is why a speech she gave in March went public in July (and was distorted).
Also read what Jealous said about the Tea Party, he specifically stated they weren't racist organizations, but that leaders needed to disavow racist comments and actions when they happen in the name of the Tea party, or at there events. It should not have been controversial, and was actually distorted.
Breitbart presumably had the full speech, and demonstrated he's a poor excuse of a human by providing the misleading excerpt to damage an innocent human. If Fox was aware of the full tape, and ignored it, they proved to be as sick as Breitbart, if they didn't ask for the whole tape they proved they are incompetent, or that they didn't want the full tape out of concern that the full context might not support their vile motives.
The NAACP's only error was condemning the speech as unacceptable and racist without first contacting Sherrod, or viewing the full speech. However, since CNN exposed the truth (MSNBC you should be embarrassed that it took CNN to get to the truth) the NAACP has done all it could to rectify its mistake.
Write or email the Whitehouse and aso Vilsack at agsec@usda.gov and ask for Ms. Sherrod's immediate reinstatement. Put parental controls on Fox News. May I suggest security code of "666". Boycott their advertisers as well. I hate to keep saying this but again; money knows no color and hurts a Republican run business like Fox News at its heart and soul, it's pocket book.
I e-mailed last night.
Excellent I hope the entire country does. Both Democrats and Republicans appear united for once on Ms. Sherrod's reinstatement.
Me too Jody. Everybody is doing it. Hope Fox gets to see that there is a huge part of this country who do not support their BS.
I repeat, Shirley Sherrod will receive numerous job offers from the private sectpor and perhaps a few from state and federal agencies. If she is smart (which I think she is) she will accept the one that she likes best. Her views and work ethic are well known. The incident we are discussing is the best publicity anyone could ask for.
Pat and Jody,
I e-mailed also.
Does anyone need additional proof that these people will seek to regain power at any cost and that there are elements of the media that are complicit or are at least pawns in their shell game? The extent to which they will go to achieve their aims is staggering! Previously under similar circumstances, a snookered or out-Foxed media would raise hell and use its influence to discredit these types of sources. Not so today. Has anyone heard from the media about forever dismissing Breitbart and his Tea sympathizers? Nah. And you won't! Meanwhile, someone who used an experience 26 years ago to illustrate her growth on race relations, while all the while providing the full compliment of services required of her, is branded as a racist worldwide and booted from her job without a single retraction from those who wittingly or unwittingly held her up to ridicule. And these pond-scum Tea-Baggers and their Republican allies want the American public to return them to power! Need anything else to be mad about?
Mad in CT - isn't it something what the American media has turned into? It's like Pravda. We all have to keep on our toes and fight back, hard.
Oh my goodness, this is just delicious! It's all right for the NAACP to spew their venom about the Tea Party being racists (aka using the "N" word) with no evidence whatsoever. No one questions them, it's the NAACP saying someone is racist so it must be true. Then, the NAACP lambasts Sherrod because they don't want to be accussed of a "double standard," and it's the Republicans fault? Unbelievable. I do not like Obama. Is it because he's black? Of course it's not. To paraphrase M.L. King, I dislike him not because of the color of his skin, but because he wants to spend us into debt we'll never get out of, and he wants government intervention into every aspect of our lives. Notice, I did not resort to name calling (this means you Mad in CT). All name calling does is completely negate any argument you put forth and show you to be the immature individual you are.
Uptownman, the NAACP only pointed out that people carry signs and say things at Tea Party rallies that have clearly racist connotations. They send emails and write columns and letters that are racist. The NAACP politely asked the Tea Parties to disown those people as not speaking for their movement. The Tea Parties refused, going on the attack against the NAACP instead.
Case closed.
It is time to draw a line in the sand with Brietbart and his ilk. When do reasonable people say "enough" to this type of character assassination? This woman lost her job, and her reputation by this attack, she is an innocent victim of the right wing politics of personal destruction that have been on display since President Obama was elected to office. There was real harm done, while she may get her job back, and she should...where does she go to get her reputation restored? It is time to stand up firmly against the right wing smear machine. All of you who worship at the feet of Beck/Hannity/Limbaugh are equally to blame, because you have made abundantly clear that hate sells. t The lessors amongst us would rather hear slander against an innocent victim, a woman for heaven's sake, who is just trying to work her 8-5 job and live her life in peace than fact. You, who encourage this by your participation in these shows, ought to be ashamed of yourselves.
The FCC should forcibly make Faux retract their statements and the story and should fine the livin heck out of them. I hope that Shirley Sherrod makes mega millions off from suing Faux, Breitbart and the commentators on Faux for defamation of character, character assassination, personal distress, slander and libel. I can only hope that Breitbart does jail time on top of it, he has certainly lost ALL credibility now, as if he really had any before. Gotcha backstabbing, misleading reporting can only go so far before someone shoots you down in flames!
My heart broke last night when I watched Shirley Sherrod on tape from the CNN interview she had with Tony Harris yesterday afternoon.
This is a travesty! As David Gergen said last night on Campbell Brown, “this woman was hanged and now they wnt to give her a trial.”
Andrew Breitbart and Fox News should be sued for slander and defamation of character.
Ms. Sherrod should be applauded for her moral values and how she has spent her career helping people of all races because she had a moment in time when she could have allowed race to dictate her path and she chose righteousness.
She must be made whole. Starting with getting her job back and an apology from the Obama Administration.
She will never get an apology from the media that smeared her and certainly not from Breitbart. He was on Hannity last evening still talking about the woman as if the edited version of his videotape is who she really is and Hannity was grinning and echoing those same sentiments!
Are those people without conscious or morals?
Shame on Fox News who is hell bent on destroying President Obama at all cost.
When did it become common practice for jounalists to not bother checking a source. I'm not being rhetorical, it's an honest question. It seems there used to be a higher standard in regards to only presenting the facts. Journalists used to rigorously fact check or it could cost them their job (see Richard Nixon and Deep Thoat) Someone mentioned in an earlier post about a ruling that allowed media to say whatever it wanted, what are the specifics of that? And I don't know if it's their unofficial motto a Fox News or their mission statement that "..we don't fact check anything.." With that in mind I would decree anything that they air to be subject to my BS radar. If they don't care about facts then I don't care about their "news"
A judge in Florida ruled that News organizations can knowingly lie to the public. The case involved Fox Investigative reporters being asked by the "suits" at Fox to alter the findings of their investigation into hormones in dairy milk. The reporters were harrassed for a year or so to keep making changes to the story they were never allowed to air.
I caught Chuck T and Mark Whitacre discuss teachable moments for the media and WH regarding the Sherrod story. My thought, maybe this is (along with the media finally reporting on what GOPers have been doing, saying and challenging them; and no doubt they read our critiques) is a turning point for journalists, cable, MSM to do due diligence first before running with a story.
Joe S was sickening this morning--yesterday he WAS playing Glenn Beck, this morning he was attacking the WH. A once intelligent morning show gets tacky and tabloid when Scarborough is hosting. I like the show but Joe must go.
Jody, I agree with you. Joe really showed his Glen Beck side this morning.
Instead of blaming the media for running the story withour checking their facts, he blamed the President. Joe was absolutely juvenile in his reaction this morning.
Thanks for this Jody and Penny. I don't watch Joe S. any longer but none of this surprises me. It's why I don't watch him.
I watch it despite Joe. Occasionally he is reasonable, and other times he's a pure hack. This morning he was a pure hack. Ignoring Vilsack's claim that the WH was not involved Joe repeatedly claimed the instructions came from the WH. It's true that the women from the USDA who spoke with Sherrod indicated the WH wants her resignation, but whether she considered Vilsack part of the WH, or made the comment to encourage Sharrod to resign swiftly, or whether the order did come from someone other than Vilsack is simply not a known fact, and for Joe to repeatedly indicate it was a fact that the WH ordered her termination was an example of Joe's inability to resist being a political hack.
I absolutely agree. When that fool is on the show is intolerable. He is such a jerk. He cuts off everyone, but insists on being heard, he's rude to Mika and she just takes it. He's a fool
Yet another example of Fox and Freaks Propaganda channel putting out a lie in order to trash our first black president and his supporters. Racist Andrew Breitbart has proven yet again that he will air any vile doctored tape in order to spread lies to hurt Democrats and President Obama especially. The real target of Racist Back Bart Breitbart's tape wasn't Shirley Sherrod but the NAACP she was just collateral damage and her speech the vehicle to trash the NAACP unfairly, you know just like the lies that sank ACORN.
Did Fox and Freaks apologize for it's racist rant against the NAACP? Heck no they blamed Obama for railroading Sherrod out of her job. Fox and Freaks has no morals and no honesty, they will never admit a mistake and apologize. Then again why should it when it knows that the clueless Braindead Beckerhead crowd never fact checks them and just believes any lie they hear on Fox Noise.
Attorney General Eric Holder needs to come down on Racist Black Bart Breitbart like a ton of bricks and search his office to see if he has the whole tape and that he was the one who doctored it. I don't believe for one second he got it already doctored. This pattern of spreading lies about ACORN, Van Jones and now the NAACP and Shirley Sherrod proves a racist slant, scaring the uptighty righty whities that black people are racists and coming to take away their guns or some such nonsense.
I hope that the NAACP and Shirley Sherrod sue the pants off Racist Black Bart Breitbart and Fox and Freaks. It's about time that Fox and Freaks faces legal ramifications for how they will lie, cheat and steal to push their worthless rightwing political agenda. What's needed is a class action suit from the good people of ACORN who were falsely accused.
All Fox and Freaks has become is a propaganda channel of the mental midgets, by mental midgets and for mental midgets.
Fox News - Not Based in Fact or History!
Like everything else in life, it can be compared to the Simpsons. I'm thinking of Homer and the gummy Venus de Milo. When he does the interview for "Hard Line" and they chop it up to make him look like a monster. You can see the clock jumping back and forth in the corner and it sounds like a DJ scratching. But everyone jumps on the bandwagon to condemn poor ol' Homer (Homer Simpson: Portait of an A$$ Grabber)
and the biggest hypocrite is Joe Scarborough. he was condemning the White House for not checking this out and a "rush to judgement" and even went so far as to rant that "if Obama could not handle this and check it out before any action was taken he is not capable of running the country". HE ACTUALLY SAID THAT!! Keep in mind Joe was saying this before he checked out what the White House did or did not do. Seriously, when is MSNBC going to send Joe on his way??? ....to FOX where he belongs.
Rhea, Joe's job as he sees it is to get the GOP back in the majority in November. And he will hammer away at the President night and day. That's all he's doing. He has no depth. He's insincere. He's a GOP lapdog.
Are you suggesting that only liberal voices should be on MSNBC? Gee, and you libs decry Fox for pandering to right. Clearly, all you want on MSNBC is a group of people to parrot the progressive talking points. As Chuck Todd and company said in this exact blog, the progressives are in the minority and no doubt will stay there forever. MSNBC is a business, and they can't afford to just kowtow to a shrinking minority.
uptownman, I'm not suggesting any such thing. Chuck Todd may say that the progressives are in the minority. But so isn't the right. MSNBC should not knowtow to a shrinking minority.
What they should be doing is telling the truth. They have hundreds of journalists. What are they doing? They're just echoing what Fox Propaganda is spewing.
Except for Keith, Rachel and Lawrence. They don't. Nor should they. When you start echoing Fox Propaganda, you are a sell out. And MSNBC is full of them.
When Joe is sticking to actual facts the fact that he's a former GOP congressman with a bias isn't a problem. The problem is when he states things that aren't fact, and passes them off as fact, that is wrong regardless of whether the person is liberal, middle of the road or conservative.
Keith, Rachel and Lawrence are good not merely because they are liberal, but because they actually attempt to provide truth. The truth they may seek to provide on a given night may only be FACTS that dispute right wing lies, but they don't intentionally make up things, and when they are wrong they come back correct the errors and apologize (when has O'Reilly et al admitted they erred in a prior show, let alone apologized?)
I like Chris Matthews, he is by no means a consistent liberal, I often disagree with his opinions, but he tries to present both sides of an issue, and calls out people who are making facts up.
No MSNBC should never become a liberal Fox, but criticism of Joe S (at least from me, and many others) is not based upon his conservative bias, it is because too often he is out right dishonest, and attempts to pass off GOP spin/talking points as fact.
I don't like Ed Schultz (as a anchor). I find him to be an intellectual light weight, and a blow hard. Yes he's usually liberal, but to me his show seems like a liberal version of a Fox show.
So no uptownman I'm not suggesting that only liberal voices belong on MSNBC, I believe that only intelligent honest voices who don't use the air waves to pass off political spin as fact, belong on MSNBC. Usually Morning Joe is best when Joe is on vacation. Joe isn't an idiot (he's much smarter than Ed, but he's not the intellectual match of Keith, Rachel, or Lawrence O'Donnell), but too often he states opinion, or spin (without fact checking) as an actual fact. For months before and after the PA primary Joe repeatedly stated as a fact that the WH promised Joe Sestak the Sec of Navy position if he didn't run against Specter. It wasn't true, and a quick fact check would have proven as much (not that no job was offered but certainly not secretary of Navy), and yet Joe brow beat people (Chuck Todd in one show) who even attempted to dispute Joe's "fact". When Joe's fact turned out to be false, Joe didn't admit he was wrong, or apologize, he ignored it, and then turned on Sestak for allowing Joe and others to believe he was offered the Secretary of Navy position.
So no the problem with Joe S isn't that he's conservative, it's he's often nothing but a political hack who tries to pass himself off as being objective!
Dear hawkeyedemocrat,
But you still don't get it. Bill O'Reilly is a liar and Chris Mathews is not all that liberal. And I would assert that Bill is much fairer than Chris. Do you ever listen to Bill as he is making fun of Beck and laughing at Ingram? He continually makes fun of the lunitic right as well as the lunitic left. I find Maddow is much more even handed on many issues than Mathews. She has done some excellent reporting on the war and the oil crisis.
Here's one to try on. During the whole gulf oil leak crisis Mathews has at least had on guests that talked about the red tape involved and a lack of a "go to" guy with real authority to get things done. You know, the skimmer boats waiting a month to be cleared by the EPA. But if you listen closely, the words "President Obama" or the phrase "the Obama administration" have rarely if ever been mentioned. Primarily he has railed on BP. Ok, that's fine, BP is the one, or perhaps also there partners in the well, that are responsible. The government, going back many years and many administrations also failed in there duty to protect our environment and people through slack regulation.
I find it hard to believe that this is not a concious, orchestrated effort to distance the president as much as possible from the BP oil spill. And I am not saying he had any magic way to plug it. I am just saying that we need to look at our emergency response system and find a way to get it into gear faster and more effectively. Katrina is another example of our being unprepared and too slow to act. And I would love to see the planned responce for a nuclear reactor failure or a dirty bomb teror incident. I want to see the plans no matter what party is in power. We needed to have a government installed flow monitor on the well and we still need to have scientists allowed in to the area to began studying the effects of the oil and the dispursants. But there can be little doubt that there is a plan on the left to work with the media to distance the president as much as possible from the leak. And let's be real about this. If Bush were in the office do you think Chriss might be bringing up his name more?
Interesting, Chris Mathews had a scientist on that was trying to get permission to study the oil flow. He has pleaded with the administration to no avail. When Chris asked him if he thought the response was going well the scientist answered: "Yeah, they have a lot of boom in place." That was it! In my reading between the lines the answer was: "Yeah, hey I'm a liberal and I am all for the president and mainly I want to get a chance to study this thing so do you think I am going to make any negative comments about the administration or OSAH/EPA/NOAH/Army Core tripping over each other?"
On the other hand, if you watched CNN and FOX the disaster did not come up without mentioning President Obama. Yes, they blamed BP but especially Anderson Cooper's show, with the locals on the ground, continually talked about the failure of government to act quickly and decisively in cutting red tape. So where is the truth? A bit on both sides. CNN certainly seems to try and remain balanced even though some would call it far left and my buddy Nate calls it right wing!
My point. For everyone on the right trying to spin things there exists an equal and oposite force on the left. Both sides have there "far out" guys and there more sober guys and gals. But when it comes to "truth" you have to read JoAnn from PA on this topic just below here - very funny and not partisian at all.
Who the hell cares? This whole thing will blow over and FOX will not lose any of it's GINORMOUS ratings. It will have no effect on the outcome of the elections this November and it will have no effect on the fact that millions of conervative-leaning people in this nation are sick and tired of the double standard the media has regarding politics and race.
CU:
Please don't mistaken high ratings with quality programming. People tend to drift towards sensationalism and drama whether the content of the same is of any quality or not, truthful or not. Fox Noise is similar to a tabloid where the front cover gives us a full-view picture of an 3 ft. tall alien with a large head and big black eyes lying unconscious on one's front door step. If you will study which programs receive higher ratings as Fox Noise, Amercian Idol and the like, versus those that are truly creative, artistic and educational you will see that the former beat out the latter everytime in ratings. People are also drawn to that which is weird versus that which is real and that can truly expand the mind. This is one reason why Glenn Beck has high ratings. Poeple who view his program want someone to think for them and for that person to add a little twisted logic to that influence so that their normal routine days can end with a bit more drama. Most people are bored with life and those like Beck, O'Reilly, Hannity, Limbaugh, Fox Noise, etc. are magnets for the bored. It gives them another world to live in, a fantasy world you might say to liven up their boring lives. I mean, what fun it is to think that our Presdient just might be a two headed evil terrorist socialist muslim. Makes the day interesting. But in no way should anyone think these programs or these people and their high ratings are a result of legitimate, truthful and rational programming.
AND their apparent double standard on truth!
Truth.
The truth shall set you free. Beauty is truth, truth beauty. Truth is stranger than fiction. A grain of truth. To Tell The Truth. Truth or Consequences. Truth or Dare. Sojourner Truth. An Inconvenient Truth. You can’t handle the truth!
Okay, a brief explanation – this is a sort of word association game my brother and I enjoy playing sometimes, often in the middle of a conversation about something totally unrelated. We take turns trying to come up with matching names or phrases and the last one to come up with one wins. It could be songs with the word “moon” in the title (unfair, he’s the world’s biggest Sinatra fan, so he always wins) or for reasons which escape me now, one time it was people named Dwayne or Duane, which would have been a really short game if we hadn’t bent the rules a bit to allow silliness like Dwayne Gretzky and Fort Dwayne, Indiana.
But today’s game is “Truth” – one I found myself playing the other night while huddled in the dark escaping this infernal heat in the one room I have with air conditioning, finding my mind wandering from the reality tv show I was watching – after all, nothing says “truth” like reality television, right? And I got to thinking…..always a dangerous thing. :)
Truth. It’s a precious commodity, yet it gets tossed around on here like rice at a wedding. We debate economics (Truth in Lending?) and political campaigning (Truth in Advertising? One of my favorite oxymorons!) Of course, an alien from another planet who was reading us here (Cue the X-Files music - The truth is out there!) would no doubt be thoroughly confused as to how many different and contradictory versions of the truth we seem to have. And how many different ways we have of proving that only our truth is the true truth. Some of us provide links to other sites who have already determined the truth. Some of us point fingers at one side for getting their truth from Fox News and then in our next post turn around and quote Rachel Maddow (the gospel truth?), while others do just the opposite (the cold hard truth?). Some provide copious statistics – sorry, can’t come up with any “truth” idioms about those, though there is that one about the three kinds of lies – lies, damned lies, and, well, statistics. And then there are those who quote their truths as FACTS – as if putting it in capital letters somehow makes their truth even truer. Maybe it does – or maybe it’s just the missing fourth item in that series after statistics.
Hey, look – I’m not trying to be critical or above the fray here; I can be as guilty as the next person (Oh, yes - the truth hurts!). I’m just saying that if truth IS beauty, than maybe like beauty, it can sometimes be in the eye of the beholder?
I’ll leave with one last one that I recently saw on a bumper sticker:
“Trust those who seek the truth. Doubt those who have found it”.
And that’s the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth.
Hey, is this heat EVER going to break?
JoAnne: Great post...and that's the truth!
Good morning Jody, Iowa
You are so right. What a dance with republicans this it. I'm furious. In fact, I saw Briebart on FOX NOISE'S Sean KKKlanity show sitting there looking a big bull with steam coming out of his ears.
That fat, lying, tub of lard had the nerve to say the video was all about it being the NAACP acussations of racist in the Tea Bag Circus and that this is a double standard. Let's see that bas-t*ard got rid of Acorn, Van Jones, and now Shirley Sherrod. FOX Noise does nothing but foment racial divide. Not once did Breibart apoligize or say his video's purpose was taken out of context.
As Alan Grayson said in Congress may God bless his soul. I'll even take it further may God enligten him and educate him on the history of white people about black history.
Yeah. And changing a talk show host's name to incorporate the letters "KKK" doesn't "foment racial divide"? It's people like you that are part of the problem.
All hell to anyone who dares criticize someone who is black. Van Jones main problem was that he was a no-good commie.
And let me guess: "educate him on the history of white people about black history" means whites are evil and need to bend over backwards and feel ashamed for things that happened before they were born. Anyone who dares to disagree with this is a racist, right? Get over it and get a life.
How old r u fairly?
Cut him some slack, WTF- ol' CUF has been listening to 'squeaker' Hannity too much the last week or so. He doesn't know any better.
Amazing how in 2010 people are still creating stories to distort and destroy the character of hardworking American. With this kind of behavior, we dont have to worry about Al'Queda
Racism is ignorance. However, premeditated actions should not be tolerated.
What a shame. We are only hurting ourselves in the long run.