View Full Version : Video Shows USDA Official Saying She Didn't Give 'Full Force' of Help to White Farmer
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/07/19/clip-shows-usda-official-admitting-withheld-help-white-farmer/
youtube link of video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_xCeItxbQY)
Days after the NAACP clashed with Tea Party members over allegations of racism, a video has surfaced showing an Agriculture Department official regaling an NAACP audience with a story about how she withheld help to a white farmer facing bankruptcy -- video that now has forced the official to resign.
Shirley Sherrod, the department's Georgia director of Rural Development, is shown in the clip describing "the first time I was faced with having to help a white farmer save his farm." Sherrod, who is black, claimed the farmer took a long time trying to show he was "superior" to her. The audience laughed as she described how she determined his fate.
"He had to come to me for help. What he didn't know while he was taking all that time trying to show me he was superior to me was I was trying to decide just how much help I was going to give him," she said. "I was struggling with the fact that so many black people have lost their farmland and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land -- so I didn't give him the full force of what I could do. I did enough."
The Agriculture Department announced Monday, shortly after FoxNews.com published its initial report on the video, that Sherrod had resigned.
"There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA, and I strongly condemn any act of discrimination against any person," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a written statement. "We have been working hard through the past 18 months to reverse the checkered civil rights history at the department and take the issue of fairness and equality very seriously.
Sherrod explained in the video that, at the time, she assumed the state or national Department of Agriculture had referred the white farmer to her. In order to ensure that the farmer could report back that she was indeed helpful, she said she took him to see "one of his own" -- a white lawyer.
"I figured that if I take him to one of them, that his own kind would take care of him," she said.
The point of the story wasn't entirely clear; only an excerpt of the speech is included in the video clip.
"It was revealed to me that it's about poor versus those who have," she said, suggesting she had learned that race is less important.
The video clip was first posted by BigGovernment.com. The clip is dated March 27 from an NAACP Freedom Fund banquet.
The clip adds to the firestorm of debate over the NAACP's decision to approve a resolution at its convention last week accusing some Tea Party activists of racism -- a charge Tea Party leaders deny. FoxNews.com was unable to get a response to this story from the NAACP.
In a second clip from the same event posted online, Sherrod appeared to urge black job seekers to find work at the Department of Agriculture because the federal government won't lay people off.
"There are jobs at USDA and many times there are no people of color to fill those jobs because we shy away from agriculture. We hear the word agriculture and think, why are we working in the fields?" she said. "You've heard of a lot of layoffs. Have you heard of anybody in the federal government losing their job? That's all I need to say."
I hope that lawyer she introduced him to sues the crap out of her.
It's always about race to the left, regardless of what race they are. Nothing is more important in their eyes.
GermanSynergy
07-19-10, 23:09
I should be surprised, but I'm not...:rolleyes:
Is this the very same NAACP that branded the Tea Party as "racist"?
Shocking....:rolleyes:
parishioner
07-19-10, 23:14
I can already hear their excuses.
John_Wayne777
07-20-10, 07:04
It's the logical end of a society built on double standards. People with a fouled up world view...the world view that people of X color shouldn't bother those who are not of their "kind" with problems...make it into positions of authority and responsibility and then use the power of their office to inflict their diseased world view on others.
People are entitled to their opinion, but when it colors the discharge of their duties it becomes a problem.
...but in our society we've accepted that some people can be racists and it's no big deal as long as you have the right skin color and your oppression is aimed at the right people. White power types who show up at a polling place with weapons to intimidate voters would be national news and every race hustler in our country would be elbowing each other to try and be the first one in front of the camera to condemn America's racism and argue that they should be given more money and power.
If Black Panthers who spend their off hours telling people to kill "crackers" as well as the children of "crackers" shows up at a polling place with weapons to intimidate voters, on the other hand, it's not a big deal.
By allowing the double standard to exist we encourage the sort of behavior seen at the USDA. I heard someone say it's not a big deal because it clearly isn't a USDA-wide conspiracy...but that entirely misses the point. One does not need a massive conspiracy across an agency when there are enough individual actors allowed to work their reprobate world view into action because of their official positions. As government intrudes itself more and more into the daily lives of Americans, the existence of this double standard and the potential for injustice when coupled with official power should send a chill up the spine of anyone with a better than room temperature IQ.
I would really like to know if the guy she talked about lost his farm or not. Im sure there there will be plenty of people that she was supposedly helping that ended up losing everything.
Business_Casual
07-20-10, 08:27
JW777, I agree - the reason we fear government as a nation is exactly this kind of abuse. Time end it, not mend it.
QuietShootr
07-20-10, 09:32
These are the same people that have made "RACIST" into an accusation that can end careers and lives. At least when it's leveled at white people. THEY can't BE racist, of course.
**** you, I'm a racist, I guess. Do you have anything else to add?
Hypocrisy at its finest.
http://www.ruraldevelopment.org/shirleydirector.html
Minority Farm Settlement
Justice Achieved - Congratulations to Shirley and Charles Sherrod!
We have wonderful news regarding the case of New Communities, Inc., the land trust that Shirley and Charles Sherrod established, with other black farm families in the 1960's. At the time, with holdings of almost 6,000 acres, this was the largest tract of black-owned land in the country. Now with a cash award of historic proportions, the group will be able to begin again.
In 1969, New Communities received a planning grant from OEO and was encouraged to expect substantial funding for implementation, but Governor Maddox would not permit further funds for the group to come into the state.
Nevertheless, New Communities built up farming operations to help retain the land. They had highway frontage where they had a farmers market to sell their crops. They raised hogs and sold the processed meat in a smokehouse they built on the highway. Their sugar cane mill on the highway also attracted customers. New Communities was ahead of the times in raising eight acres of Muscatine grapes, which are now widely grown in the area. They also farmed 1,500 acres of row crops, including corn, peanuts and soybeans.
Over the years, USDA refused to provide loans for farming or irrigation and would not allow New Communities to restructure its loans. Gradually, the group had to fight just to hold on to the land and finally had to wind down operations.
In 1985, as the land was being lost, Shirley entered the RDLN program. Previously, she had worked behind the scenes, but as she participated in RDLN, she began to realize her capacity as an up-front leader. She invited the Federation of Southern Cooperatives to sponsor her in the RDLN program, earned her master's degree with a thesis that continues to provide a blueprint for her ongoing work with black farmers and others, helped orient all succeeding groups of RDLN Leaders, and became vice chair of RDLN's Board of Directors. As you all know, Shirley is Georgia Lead for both the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund and the Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative. She has also chaired the board of the Farmers Legal Action Group, which has been active in the minority farmers law suit, along with the Federation and other groups. FSC and SRBWI hosted RDLN's National Network Assembly in 2006, during which Network members had a chance to immerse themselves in Civil Rights history, with the guidance of Shirley and Charles (the first field director of SNCC), Albany singers and others, and to visit the economic development projects that have grown out of that Civil Rights history.
The cash award acknowledges racial discrimination on the part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the years 1981-85. (President Reagan abolished the USDA Office of Civil Rights when he became President in 1981.) New Communities is due to receive approximately $13 million ($8,247,560 for loss of land and $4,241,602 for loss of income; plus $150,000 each to Shirley and Charles for pain and suffering). There may also be an unspecified amount in forgiveness of debt. This is the largest award so far in the minority farmers law suit (Pigford vs Vilsack).
The attorney for New Communities has been Rose Sanders of Chestnut Sanders and Sanders, sister of National Rural Fellows graduate Harold Gaines and Advisor for RDLN Leaders Lillie Fields and Rose Hill.
No one can compensate those involved with New Communities for the difficult history they experienced. The award covers only a few of the years in question. Nevertheless, with these funds, New Communities will be able to start work again -- forty years later -- to realize the promise of their original dream, reconnect with the legacy of the Civil Rights movement, and meet the challenge of the needs and opportunities of the current historical moment.
QuietShootr
07-20-10, 09:50
Hypocrisy at its finest.
http://www.ruraldevelopment.org/shirleydirector.html
Purely an oversight which I'm sure will be corrected, but they appear to have forgotten to award the mule.
I wonder how long it will take for her to get a job at ACORN.
Nathan_Bell
07-20-10, 10:52
I wonder how long it will take for her to get a job at ACORN.
Only if the NAACP doesn't land her first. That audience certainly seemed to like her.
Lt. Col. (Retired) Allen West wrote about the NAACP and their racists views yeterday: http://allenwestforcongress.com/blog/2010-07-19/washingtoons-one-nation-under-god-indivisible-liberty-and-justice-all
Also if you have a chance watch the video about rights vs entitlements.
I'm sure he's not real popular with the NAACP or it's followers right now but it needs to be said.
GermanSynergy
07-20-10, 11:01
LTC West is the real deal. I'd love to see him run for POTUS.
Very well written- succinct and thought provoking.
QuietShootr
07-20-10, 11:03
Lt. Col. (Retired) Allen West wrote about the NAACP and their racists views yeterday: http://allenwestforcongress.com/blog/2010-07-19/washingtoons-one-nation-under-god-indivisible-liberty-and-justice-all
Also if you have a chance watch the video about rights vs entitlements.
I'm sure he's not real popular with the NAACP or it's followers right now but it needs to be said.
That dude better have good security - the NAACP will probably Malcolm X him if he's not careful. And they'll hire a couple of skinheads to do it.
LTC West is the real deal. I'd love to see him run for POTUS.
Very well written- succinct and thought provoking.
I would LOVE to see him run for President!
It looks like Shirley Sherrod resigned last night: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38321920/ns/us_news-life/
GermanSynergy
07-20-10, 13:03
Only if the NAACP doesn't land her first. That audience certainly seemed to like her.
Or Mugabe...
Nathan_Bell
07-20-10, 16:01
Or Mugabe...
Nah, she probably took lessons from him, remember he has been running white farmers off for decades.
her response ?
"They were not interested in hearing the truth. No one wanted to hear the truth," she said in a television interview Tuesday morning.
Belmont31R
07-20-10, 16:58
Just bringing Zimbabwe and South Africa to the US.....:rolleyes:
Oh and manufacturing racism is a big industry. A lot of these people are still stuck in the 60's, and have nothing else to do in their lives. They are still stuck in the Civil Rights era. Now the more hardcore ones are trying to get retribution on whites for some perceived wrong doing. I guess just for being white we are guilty of oppressing the black people....
A lot of these people are still stuck in the 60's, and have nothing else to do in their lives. They are still stuck in the Civil Rights era. Now the more hardcore ones are trying to get retribution on whites for some perceived wrong doing. I guess just for being white we are guilty of oppressing the black people....
WHAT do you mean "these people"?
Belmont31R
07-20-10, 19:39
WHAT do you mean "these people"?
The race baiting NAACP/Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton types that still banter on about slavery, civil rights, reparations, etc. All races are treated equally by law, and have for decades. The only way they stay releavent is to create racial tension and race issues where none exist. Some of them are now on the "white people must pay" track like this USDA worker, Black Panthers, and others. The crowd at the NAACP meeting sure met her words with acceptance that she was treating black people better than whites.
variablebinary
07-20-10, 19:52
I could never do this to another human being. It's awful.
I just dont understand people who think like this. And what happens to people caught up in Obamacare. Imagine if your wife has cancer and some bureaucrat decides they weren't going to give it their full consideration because of race.
I could never sink to this level of cruelty. As a Puerto Rican, yeah you get some discrimination in NYC and such, but to allow that to turn you into a monster...sorry, I just dont get it. I've been 100% fair to every single person I have ever met in life.
Honor and integrity are all you are left with on your deathbed. Why throw it away?
All races are treated equally by law
LOL what fantasyland do you live in?
Belmont31R
07-20-10, 20:05
LOL what fantasyland do you live in?
What laws out there discriminate based on race?
parishioner
07-20-10, 20:12
The NAACP says they were "snookered" into condemning the former USDA official.
http://www.aolnews.com/politics/article/black-usda-official-shirley-sherrod-resigns-in-flap-over-white-farmer/19560922
(July 20) -- The NAACP said today it was "snookered" into condemning former black USDA official Shirley Sherrod after seeing a partial video clip in which Sherrod made comments about not helping a white farmer as much as she should have.
The civil rights group's reversal came after Sherrod said her comments had been taken out of context and the farmer's wife came to her defense. Eloise Spooner said Sherrod had helped save her family farm and is "a friend for life."
Spooner told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Sherrod was not being treated fairly. "I said, 'That ain't right. They have not treated her right,' " she told the newspaper.
Sherrod said the U.S. Department of Agriculture didn't know the whole story and succumbed to political pressure in forcing her to step down. She resigned Monday as the agency's rural development director for Georgia after a clip of the speech was posted online by conservative outlets BigGovernment.com and later Fox News.
In a poor-quality clip from a speech she reportedly gave March 27 at an NAACP Freedom Fund banquet, she talks about working with a farmer, identified by CNN as Roger Spooner, who was condescending to her.
"What he didn't know while he was taking all that time trying to show me he was superior to me was, I was trying to decide just how much help I was going to give him," Sherrod says in the video, as the crowd laughs.
"I was struggling with the fact that so many black people have lost their farmland, and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land. So I didn't give him the full force of what I could do. I did enough."
But Eloise Spooner, 82, said Sherrod's efforts were good enough for her. "She gave enough that it helped us save our farm," she told CNN in an interview today.
Sherrod told the Journal-Constitution early today that she was relating an event that happened 24 years ago, before she worked for the federal government. And she denied she is racist.
Sherrod, 62, told the paper the short clip left out the rest of the story, when she says she eventually worked with the farmer to help him avoid foreclosure, and became friendly with him and his wife. At the time, Sherrod worked with the Georgia field office for the Federation of Southern Cooperative/Land Assistance Fund.
"And I went on to work with many more white farmers," she told the paper. "The story helped me realize that race is not the issue, it's about the people who have and the people who don't. When I speak to groups, I try to speak about getting beyond the issue of race."
In an interview with the newspaper today, Eloise Spooner said she spoke to Sherrod on the phone today and will publicly support her. "She helped us and we're going to help her," she said. She later told CNN that the government "didn't do the right thing" in forcing Sherrod out.
The USDA condemned her comments in the clip.
"There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA, and I strongly condemn any act of discrimination against any person," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement carried by several news outlets. "We have been working hard through the past 18 months to reverse the checkered civil rights history at the department and take the issue of fairness and equality very seriously."
The NAACP initially supported Vilsack's decision to accept Sherrod's resignation.
"We are appalled by her actions, just as we are with abuses of power against farmers of color and female farmers," NAACP President Benjamin Jealous said in a statement.
But the group retracted its criticism late this afternoon. It said in a statement that it was changing its stance on Sherrod after viewing the whole tape, talking to the former official and listening to the farmers involved in the story, who "personally credit her with helping to save the family farm."
"We have come to the conclusion we were snookered by Fox News and tea party activist Andrew Breitbart into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias," Jealous said in the statement.
Asked this morning on CNN why she didn't tell the USDA the rest of the story, Sherrod said, "I did say that. But they, for some reason, the stuff that Fox and the tea party does is scaring the administration.
"I told them, 'Get the whole tape' ... and look at how I tell people we have to get beyond race and start working together," she said, adding later: "I tried to fight, but I didn't have any support from the United States Department of Agriculture."
Her resignation came after the NAACP passed a resolution condemning what it called racism within the tea party movement.
rickrock305
07-20-10, 20:13
nevermind, dude above beat me to it.
Belmont31R
07-20-10, 20:16
Affirmative Action.
You're lucky because I was going to say except that, and it doesn't really apply in context because that works for the race baiters not against.
parishioner
07-20-10, 20:16
But Eloise Spooner said as far as she's concerned Sherrod worked tirelessly to help the couple hold onto their land as they faced bankruptcy.
I wonder how much the NAACP doled out to the family to say that little gem.
rickrock305
07-20-10, 20:17
I wonder how much the NAACP doled out to the family to say that little gem.
do you really think thats true? :rolleyes:
do you really think thats true? :rolleyes:
Eloise Spooner said she thought the woman at USDA worked tirelessly, the woman at USDA said in her own words she didn't do as much as she could have for racial reasons.
That's right out of her own mouth.
:confused:
I would say Eloise Spponer doesn't want to get involved and is just being gracious about it in public when it is clear - by the USDA woman's own admission - that race was a factor in their treatment.
parishioner
07-20-10, 20:21
do you really think thats true? :rolleyes:
God only knows but it certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility.
rickrock305
07-20-10, 20:27
race was a factor in their treatment.
treatment that saved their farm and led to them being lifelong friends.
Sherrod explained in the video that, at the time, she assumed the state or national Department of Agriculture had referred the white farmer to her. In order to ensure that the farmer could report back that she was indeed helpful, she said she took him to see "one of his own" -- a white lawyer.
The only reason she did anything was because she though it was a setup.
Honor and integrity are all you are left with on your deathbed. Why throw it away?
they dont have it to throw it away ?
my thoughts at least :)
your from Puerto Rico I have a friend their his name is ____ do you know him :)
heehheh sorry had to do that :) its funny being from Maui I used to get this all the time ?
they must think the islands are so small you know EVERYONE :)
treatment that saved their farm and led to them being lifelong friends.
Sorry how does any of this add up to what you are claiming?
"Honey I have been having an affair." This is Sherrod. I heard what she said and she said she didn't do all she could have done for racial reasons ON TAPE.
"My Husband has always been faithful." This is Spooner.
Am I supposed to believe my ears or Spooner?
"I don't know what brought up the racist mess," Roger Spooner told CNN's "Rick's List.
Sir, Sherrod brought it up in a story about how much of a stupid cracker you were in front of the NAACP. This story was then released by another organization the NAACP has been attacking as racist in order to show that the NAACP is throwing stones while living in a glass house.
So is Sherrod a racist who didn't do all she could do (her words) to help a white farmer, or did she make some shit up (tell lies) to make a point about race which is about par for the course for Democrats/NAACP types?
Either one is pretty screwed up!
ThirdWatcher
07-21-10, 03:27
LTC West is the real deal. I'd love to see him run for POTUS.
Very well written- succinct and thought provoking.
I couldn't agree more! IMO, the Republican Party needs to focus on what won elections in the past, at LTC Allen West sounds a lot like RR. He could wind up being in the right place at the right time.
BTW, it turns my stomach to see racists of any color in positions of authority. If you struggle with objectivity, you have no business in a leadership position.
At the risk of being flamed, I gotta say that I am really tired of all this Western European American and African American (et. al.) business. We need to emphasize the American part of it. (Besides, I don't know a single person in Western Europe and I doubt that most African Americans know anyone in Africa.)
rickrock305
07-21-10, 05:10
Sorry how does any of this add up to what you are claiming?
I'm not claiming anything. The Sherrod's said it themselves.
As I understand it this video was part of a larger story, and supposedly outlines the woman's transformation from initially not doing all she could to help the white farmer to realizing that her attitude was wrong and actually helping them. It is also a video from IIRC 1986 about events that happened even earlier.
If that version of events is correct then I don't think posting selected portions of a larger video furthers the cause of exposing the NAACP and in fact is counter-productive.
Nathan_Bell
07-21-10, 06:07
As I understand it this video was part of a larger story, and supposedly outlines the woman's transformation from initially not doing all she could to help the white farmer to realizing that her attitude was wrong and actually helping them. It is also a video from IIRC 1986 about events that happened even earlier.
If that version of events is correct then I don't think posting selected portions of a larger video furthers the cause of exposing the NAACP and in fact is counter-productive.
DNC.
The woman resigned over a 24 year old video tape about an incident 25+ years ago?
IIRC she was told to resign or be fired.
She's on the Today show right now. I don't find her a sympathetic figure, but anyone condemning her without seeing the whole speech or video needs to check their bias IMHO.
ETA:
I REALLY don't like Matt Lauer's attitude about the whole thing and he's totally exposed his own lack of objectivity, but if this video snippet was in fact taken out of context by folks with an agenda then his attitude is likely going to become the predominate attitude.
montanadave
07-21-10, 07:34
This whole shitstorm started as little more than a political hit job by a conservative blogger to retaliate against the NAACP for airing some of the Tea Party's dirty laundry in public (i.e. tolerating a few KKK-wannabes skulking around the fringe). Andrew Brietbart dug up some old video, did a "cut and paste" job to smear Sherrod, and put it out there where Fox News (and subsequently the rest of the media lemmings) could swoop down on it like a seagull on a sandwich. Nothing new here, just more of the same partisan rancor.
But that's not the story. The story is how quickly the Obama administration and the NAACP threw Sherrod under the bus without even making an attempt to verify the the facts. Anybody buying the story that Ag. Secretary Vilsack fired Sherrod before he got a call from somebody in the West Wing? Now that the whole story is emerging, everybody that was scrambling to distance themselves from Sherrod yesterday are trying to walk back their previous knee-jerk reactions and call for a full investigation of the relevant facts.
Sorry, shouldn't there be an investigation of the relevant facts before you demand an employee's resignation simply because there's a video clip popping up here and there which looks politically embarrassing?
The folks that started this whole thing must be rolling in the aisles. What started as a clumsy attempt to take a swipe at the NAACP has blown up into a national story which now goes all the way to the White House. Stay tuned. When the dust settles, Sherrod will be reinstated and somebody in the administration is going to have to fall on their sword for their inept attempt to squelch a story without checking the facts. Got to love it when you take a shot at a squirrel and bring down a moose.
And as an extra bonus, the White House is going to spend the next couple of news cycles trying to explain away this mess when they should be basking in the limelight as the President signs FinReg today. What a cluster****!
This whole shitstorm started as little more than a political hit job by a conservative blogger to retaliate against the NAACP for airing some of the Tea Party's dirty laundry in public (i.e. tolerating a few KKK-wannabes skulking around the fringe). Andrew Brietbart dug up some old video, did a "cut and paste" job to smear Sherrod, and put it out there where Fox News (and subsequently the rest of the media lemmings) could swoop down on it like a seagull on a sandwich. Nothing new here, just more of the same partisan rancor.
But that's not the story. The story is how quickly the Obama administration and the NAACP threw Sherrod under the bus without even making an attempt to verify the the facts. Anybody buying the story that Ag. Secretary Vilsack fired Sherrod before he got a call from somebody in the West Wing? Now that the whole story is emerging, everybody that was scrambling to distance themselves from Sherrod yesterday are trying to walk back their previous knee-jerk reactions and call for a full investigation of the relevant facts.
Sorry, shouldn't there be an investigation of the relevant facts before you demand an employee's resignation simply because there's a video clip popping up here and there which looks politically embarrassing?
The folks that started this whole thing must be rolling in the aisles. What started as a clumsy attempt to take a swipe at the NAACP has blown up into a national story which now goes all the way to the White House. Stay tuned. When the dust settles, Sherrod will be reinstated and somebody in the administration is going to have to fall on their sword for their inept attempt to squelch a story without checking the facts. Got to love it when you take a shot at a squirrel and bring down a moose.
And as an extra bonus, the White House is going to spend the next couple of news cycles trying to explain away this mess when they should be basking in the limelight as the President signs FinReg today. What a cluster****!
Indeed!
John_Wayne777
07-21-10, 08:49
Sorry, shouldn't there be an investigation of the relevant facts before you demand an employee's resignation simply because there's a video clip popping up here and there which looks politically embarrassing?
It wouldn't look politically embarrassing if the administration hadn't had a track record of racial favoritism in the first place. The cop who arrested the professor acted "stupidly", remember...and the Black Panthers who showed up to the polling place to intimidate voters got a free pass from political appointees in charge of the DOJ. Everybody who criticized Obama or who didn't vote for him was motivated by race, remember?
It's a PR issue because the administration's past actions...and the overall tenor of society for the last 20 years...made it one.
One is forced to wonder if a white guy had said that he did the same thing to a black guy while at the USDA if anyone would be going through the trouble to defend him or get the whole story. I'm going to guess "no" on that one.
PrivateCitizen
07-21-10, 09:23
I have not seen the whole video, but I did scrub a good portion of it.
Ultimately, yes, she did help the farmer and said it was not about white/black. I am not sure that excuses the way she refers to him and whites. The dialog is laden with racial categorizations. I guess it is a NAACP speech … so race is a central factor. Ultimately race just doesn't matter. I fail to see the need to include it.
However, she did go on to make a very populist 'help the poor' dialog that follows a fairly typical 'fighting for the poor against the man' course. I find that kind of social posturing ultimately as dangerous as racial posturing, if not more so.
What I ultimately see is a reinforcement of these tenets:
• Insistence that context is always relative.
The politicians and pundits need to learn this. Cuts both ways. Yeah, "I want Obama to fail" mantra, I'm looking at you. The left hammers this line just to tear at the right via Rush Limbaugh.
• Whenever you yield yourself to the will of the bureaucracy/.gov you a subject their views and opinions … right or wrong. More .gov is never a good thing.
Here is Breitbart on it on the Hannity Show
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,597324,00.html
SW-Shooter
07-21-10, 14:26
****ing media idiots now stating she did nothing wrong.
Yes she did! She discriminated based on race, I could care less that she had a change of heart.
Hitler had a change of heart (and killed himself), does that make him a good person. I know it's a broad comparison, but one nonetheless.
I hate all of the apologists at FOX, Shep, Juan "I'm a left winger, pretending to be right" Williams. And FBHO and the left wing media.
SW-Shooter I am with ya
she had a change of heart ? sounds like it a bit but she brought it up in a way that sounds like she has some issues ?
maybe a closet or unknown type racist
and her true first reaction was to be racist and not help the white guy and think the white guy was talking down to her etc.. she had a major chip on her shoulder it sounds like in the past and sounds like she might still have a bit of something in the closet ?
some white people dont mind and take the side of black racist people !!! who can say Chavez or Castro is a great person !! the same people that would defend a racist person I would say look at the lefties in hollywood a lot of them are like that ? and maybe the farmer is the same way ?
I do know a lot of America is so afraid of the black white thing they are not sure what to say in fear of being labeled a racist ?
funny/sad how she was fired so quickly ? politics at its best and obama throwing another one under the bus !!!!
I guess I wonder how many people she did not help as best she could that did loose their land ?
like my brother who is a prosecutor says about criminals when they try to say its the only time !!! they mean the only time they got caught and sure enough their will be a trail in their past !!!!
Belmont31R
07-21-10, 14:45
Breitbart is correct. Just the week prior the NAACP used the race card to discredit the Tea Party, and this video showed NAACP members warm reception to Sherrod when she was talking about discriminating against the white farmer. Obviously Sherrod later said she realized it wasn't about white and black but about the poor.
Concentrating on Sherrod is pointless, and a distraction from the real issue. The issue is the NAACP attacking and disparaging the Tea Party while at the same time applauding a black woman who discriminated against a white person.
Belmont31R
07-21-10, 14:56
This whole shitstorm started as little more than a political hit job by a conservative blogger to retaliate against the NAACP for airing some of the Tea Party's dirty laundry in public (i.e. tolerating a few KKK-wannabes skulking around the fringe). Andrew Brietbart dug up some old video, did a "cut and paste" job to smear Sherrod, and put it out there where Fox News (and subsequently the rest of the media lemmings) could swoop down on it like a seagull on a sandwich. Nothing new here, just more of the same partisan rancor.
Breitbart said he showed what was sent to him.
But that's not the story. The story is how quickly the Obama administration and the NAACP threw Sherrod under the bus without even making an attempt to verify the the facts. Anybody buying the story that Ag. Secretary Vilsack fired Sherrod before he got a call from somebody in the West Wing? Now that the whole story is emerging, everybody that was scrambling to distance themselves from Sherrod yesterday are trying to walk back their previous knee-jerk reactions and call for a full investigation of the relevant facts.
Of course. Its amateur hour in the White House until at least Jan 2013. This is not the first time Zero has had a knee jerk reaction based on not having all the facts. Why should this be any different?
Sorry, shouldn't there be an investigation of the relevant facts before you demand an employee's resignation simply because there's a video clip popping up here and there which looks politically embarrassing?
See above.
The folks that started this whole thing must be rolling in the aisles. What started as a clumsy attempt to take a swipe at the NAACP has blown up into a national story which now goes all the way to the White House. Stay tuned. When the dust settles, Sherrod will be reinstated and somebody in the administration is going to have to fall on their sword for their inept attempt to squelch a story without checking the facts. Got to love it when you take a shot at a squirrel and bring down a moose.
See above, and Ill also add that the NAACP has no right to go around calling people racists when there own members are cheering on racial discrimination against whites, other members calling black people who don't toe their line uncle tom's, ect.
And as an extra bonus, the White House is going to spend the next couple of news cycles trying to explain away this mess when they should be basking in the limelight as the President signs FinReg today. What a cluster****!
This type of stuff is just icing. Most people really care about the economy, the border, etc. Those are much bigger issues, and in fact this is a good distraction for the WH. This story will be getting coverage while the passing and signing of the Financial Reform laws was done. Another take over of our country, and people are flapping about this. Me included. I don't barely anyone talking about the takeover of the financial sector.
Mine in red.
^^^Agreed...this is definitely a bullshit distraction to take our attention away from the real damage that is being done to this country.
thopkins22
07-21-10, 15:13
As I understand it this video was part of a larger story, and supposedly outlines the woman's transformation from initially not doing all she could to help the white farmer to realizing that her attitude was wrong and actually helping them. It is also a video from IIRC 1986 about events that happened even earlier.
If that version of events is correct then I don't think posting selected portions of a larger video furthers the cause of exposing the NAACP and in fact is counter-productive.
I agree, I'm bringing this over from the Gibson thread into the more appropriate one.
Watching the whole video that's at the link I tend to think that a lot of that is taken out of context. She went on to say, "That's when it was revealed to me, that it's about poor versus those who have. It's not so much about white and black. It is about white and black, but it's not...you know it opened my eyes."
I believe she was saying that she entered a situation with her own prejudices and came to the realization that poor black people and poor white people face the same struggles.
Is she racist? Probably. But given the context I think she actually stepped outside of thought process that most in the room are probably operating with.
Then again, to me the whole point is moot because nobody should be getting federal mini bailouts for their farm, white or black.
Amazing how easily people are taken in over and over by Faux news and professional liar Breitbart. But then you pretty much have to want to be taken in by professional liars like this to believe anything they say. This story is not over and if you make a meager attempt to get your information from multiple sources you will see why.
But then to go on and pontificate as to liberals believe this or that, like people can be so easily classified or you somehow know this is utter silliness. Based on some nonsense like this?
It also means you are playing into the hands of those who want us all to think and react like this instead of facing real issues.
PrivateCitizen
07-21-10, 15:48
Amazing how easily people are taken in over and over by Faux news and professional liar Breitbart. But then you pretty much have to want to be taken in by professional liars like this to believe anything they say. This story is not over and if you make a meager attempt to get your information from multiple sources you will see why.
But then to go on and pontificate as to liberals believe this or that, like people can be so easily classified or you somehow know this is utter silliness. Based on some nonsense like this?
It also means you are playing into the hands of those who want us all to think and react like this instead of facing real issues.
Real Issues?
USDA reconsiders firing of Ga. official over speech on race
By Marcus K. Garner and Christian Boone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
7:46 a.m. Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said today he is reconsidering his department's decision to fire a Georgia official in wake of new details about her controversial speech to the NAACP.
Vilsack said in a statement early Wednesday morning that he will "conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts" about his decision to ask Shirley Sherrod to resign. Washington's apparent reversal came hours after a video of Sherrod's full speech was released, and the director of rural development in Georgia was defended by the white couple at the center of the controversy.
The full, uncut video of a federal agricultural official's NAACP speech purporting racial scheming, told a different story than the barely-three-minute snippet that cost Sherrod her job.
Despite admitting in the edited version of the taping that she once withheld help to the couple on the basis of race, Sherrod was defended Tuesday by the wife of a white Georgia farmer.
Sherrod, "kept us out of bankruptcy," said Eloise Spooner, 82, of Iron City in southwest Georgia. Spooner, in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, added she considers Sherrod a "friend for life." She and her husband, Roger Spooner, approached Sherrod for help in 1986 when Sherrod worked for a nonprofit that assisted farmers.
Sherrod, who is African-American, was asked to resign Monday night by a USDA official after videotaped comments she made in March at a local NAACP banquet surfaced on the Web. Recounting her dealings with the Spooners, Sherrod said she didn't help them as much as she could because of their race.
But a review of the entire 43-minute, 15-second speech -- released Tuesday on the NAACP Web site -- showed that Sherrod was giving a cautionary tale about the evils of racial separation.
"When I made that commitment (at age 17 years old to remain in Georgia and help people), I was making that commitment to black people, and to black people only," Sherrod said nearly 15 minutes into the recording, just seconds before the segment that brought her trouble. "But you know, God will ... put things in your path so that you realize that the struggle was really about poor people."
Next, Sherrod would say the words that eventually led to her losing her job.
"[The white farmer] was trying to show me he was superior to me," she said, recalling the day some 24 years ago. "I knew what he was doing, but he had to come to me for help."
Eloise Spooner said as far as she's concerned Sherrod worked tirelessly to help the couple hold onto their land as they faced bankruptcy.
Spooner said she spoke to Sherrod by phone Tuesday morning after the story hit cable news.
"She's very sad about it," Spooner said. "She told me she was so glad we talked. I just can't believe this is happening to her."
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a statement Tuesday saying the controversy made Sherrod's position as a rural development director, a job she was appointed to last March, untenable. But Vilsack said Wednesday that after learning more about what Sherrod actually said, he would reconsider.
Vilsack said in a statement early Wednesday morning that he will "conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts" about his decision to ask Sherrod to resign.
The NAACP, which had released a statement Monday critical of Sherrod, backtracked Tuesday, saying it was "snookered" by Andrew Breitbart, whose Web site biggovernment.com released the edited video. Breitbart did not respond to a request seeking comment.
"Having reviewed the full tape, spoken to Ms. Sherrod, and most importantly heard the testimony of the white farmers mentioned in this story, we now believe the organization that edited the documents did so with the intention of deceiving millions of Americans," NAACP President Ben Jealous said in a statement. "The tape of Ms. Sherrod’s speech at an NAACP banquet was deliberately edited to create a false impression of racial bias, and to create a controversy where none existed. This just shows the lengths to which extremist elements will go to discredit legitimate opposition."
In the video, Sherrod told the crowd at the NAACP banquet in Douglas, Ga., that she didn't do everything she could to help a white farmer whom she said was condescending when he came to her for aid.
"What he didn't know while he was taking all that time trying to show me he was superior to me was, I was trying to decide just how much help I was going to give him," Sherrod said on the video, recorded "I was struggling with the fact that so many black people had lost their farmland, and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land. So I didn't give him the full force of what I could do. I did enough."
Sherrod, in her first interview after the clip surfaced, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the video was selectively edited.
While she soon admitted as she told her story that she referred the Spooners to a white lawyer so "his own kind would help him," she followed that admission with a revelation that was omitted from the two-minute, 36-second excerpt of the speech posted by Breitbart's group.
Sherrod told the crowd that she discovered the white lawyer she had referred the Spooners to took their money for six months, but did nothing to help them.
"This lawyer told them, ‘ya'll are getting old ... why don't you just let go of the farm,'" she said. "I could not believe he said that to them."
Sherrod said she'd learned her lesson.
"It's about the poor," Sherrod said, just over 20 minutes into the speech. "It made me see it really was about those who have, versus those who don't ... black, white or Hispanic.
"It made me realize that I needed to work to help poor people ... those who don't have access the way others have."
She said the incident helped her get beyond issues of race.
"And I went on to work with many more white farmers," she said. "The story helped me realize that race is not the issue, it's about the people who have and the people who don't."
Sherrod accused the USDA of cowering to right-wing media.
"They were just looking at what the Tea Party and what Fox (News) said, and thought it was too [politically] dangerous for them," Sherrod said of her former employer.
The Sherrod video surfaced a week after the NAACP issued a resolution calling some elements of the National Tea Party racist for comments allegedly made against President Obama and African-American congressmen during the health care debate.
Sherrod said it wouldn't have made any sense for her to espouse racist comments before the NAACP audience.
"There were some white people there. The mayor [of Douglas] was there," Sherrod recalled. "Why would I do something racist if they were there?"
Douglas Mayor Jackie Wilson told the AJC she introduced speakers at the banquet but left before Sherrod's speech.
Wilson said she did not hear of any controversy in the weeks following the banquet, adding she was shocked to learn of Sherrod's resignation.
"She's not someone I know extremely well, but I respected her and thought she was doing a good job. And she seemed to be a fair person," said Wilson. "I just hate that this kind of thing happened in Douglas."
Eloise Spooner said she'll stand up for her friend.
"She helped us and we're going to help them," she said.
--Staff writer Larry Hartstein contributed to this report.
TUESDAY, JUL 20, 2010 15:40 ET
Shirley Sherrod, scalp for the right wing
Andrew Breitbart lies about a USDA appointee, and a cowardly White House forces her out as a result VIDEO
BY ALEX PAREENE
Shirley Sherrod
Sweaty conservative culture warrior and Internet publisher Andrew Breitbart won yet another scalp today when Shirley Sherrod, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development director for Georgia, was forced to resign for the offense of appearing in an obviously edited video clip that was posted to one of Breitbart's websites.
Sherrod was speaking to a Georgia chapter of the NAACP. In the speech, according to Breitbart's characterization, Sherrod is explaining how she refused to help a white farmer as much as she could have because she preferred to help black people. Breitbart:
We are in possession of a video from in which Shirley Sherrod, USDA Georgia director of rural development, speaks at the NAACP Freedom Fund dinner in Georgia. In her meandering speech to what appears to be an all-black audience, this federally appointed executive bureaucrat lays out in stark detail that her federal duties are managed through the prism of race and class distinctions.
The speech wasn't to an all-black audience (though the specter of black people revealing their contempt for whitey in closed-door meetings of fellow black people seems to drive a lot of conservatives into a paranoid frenzy), as the mayor of Douglas, Ga., was among the white attendees. And the story Sherrod told was about her work 24 years ago for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund, not "her federal duties." So, that's a lie. Andrew Breitbart is lying in this paragraph. Just for the record. Andrew Breitbart lies.
(The video intro, prepared by God knows who, also says that "Ms. Sherrod admits that in her federally appointed position overseeing a billion dollars ... she discriminates against people due to their race." Again: This is a story from when she worked for an advocacy organization and fund, not the government.)
Here's the damning story:
"What he didn't know while he was taking all that time trying to show me he was superior to me was, I was trying to decide just how much help I was going to give him," she said. "I was struggling with the fact that so many black people had lost their farmland, and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land. So I didn't give him the full force of what I could do. I did enough."
The Federation of Southern Cooperatives was chartered in 1967 for the express purpose of forming, aiding and developing co-ops for black farmers and landowners. Even now, while it has branched out into helping poor people of any race own their own land, its mission statement reads:
We strive toward the development of self-supporting communities with programs that increase income and enhance other opportunities; and we strive to assist in land retention and development, especially for African Americans, but essentially for all family farmers.
Sherrod belonged to an organization set up during the civil rights era specifically to help black farmers. So, yes, she had some reservations the first time she was approached for help by a white farmer. Then she sent him to a white lawyer for help, because she thought the white lawyer would help one of his own kind. But she learned an important lesson that day: When you're poor, no one wants to help you, no matter your race!
Because the entire point of Sherrod's story was to illustrate how her eyes were opened to that fact, she went on in her speech to explain that she "eventually worked with the man over a two-year period to help ward off foreclosure of his farm and ... eventually became friends with him and his wife."
This has been corroborated by the actual discriminated-against white people in question.
But that part isn't in the clip that Breitbart posted. Because it undermines the entire premise of his post, which is that the NAACP and Barack Obama are racist against white people. (Also because Breitbart says he doesn't have the entire speech, which makes his very comprehensive-sounding post on the speech even better.)
This is not just a matter of missing the context of Sherrod's remarks. People are imagining what she actually said based on how Andrew Breitbart framed his obviously edited clip. The content of said clip does not matter. Andrew Breitbart could put up a clip of Jordy singing "Dur dur d'être bébé!" under the headline "VIDEO SHOCK: ACORN RACIST IS OBAMA APPOINTEE" and as long as it included his picture above the text, it would lead to calls for the resignation of HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.
But in this instance, the cowardliness of the White House cannot be overstated.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Sherrod's resignation in a statement, saying the department has "zero tolerance" for discrimination. Sherrod told CNN that Cheryl Cook, deputy undersecretary for Rural Development, called her three times on Monday to eventually demand her resignation on behalf of the White House.
Over nothing. Over less than nothing, in fact. Over complete bullshit! Bullshit so obvious that it completely fell apart in less than 24 hours. I expect this sort of behavior from the craven fools at the Washington Post, but from the White House it's dismaying. And baffling.
Update: The White House says this was all Tom Vilsack's call. But they stand by it. Of course. According to Vilsack's statement, the perception of a controversy, even where non exists, "would create situations where her decisions, rightly or wrongly, would be called into question making it difficult for her to bring jobs to Georgia." So, that's pretty much license to make shit up about any low-level federal employee you want canned, I guess.
PrivateCitizen
07-21-10, 15:53
Sherrod accused the USDA of cowering to right-wing media.
"They were just looking at what the Tea Party and what Fox (News) said, and thought it was too [politically] dangerous for them," Sherrod said of her former employer.
OK, you bolded this so you get to back it up …
Please direct me to the 'Tea Party' website and show me where they, the organization, commented on this and an organization. Not Fox, not Breitbart, the Tea Party site. Either it was said or it wasn't.
And, if I may, a link will do … please don't post every article you find in full. They are always just a click away.
They just offered her job back and apologies... blahblahblah...
thopkins22
07-21-10, 16:12
[B]BY ALEX PAREENE
This is of course the same guy who tried to connect Glenn Beck to a guy who was apparently on his way to shoot people at the Tides Foundation (http://www.tides.org/about-us/index.html) because Glenn Beck apparently rants against them all the time. http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/index.html
I actually dislike Glenn Beck because he talks to his audience as if they are five years old and I find his obsessive use of chalk boards to be borderline retarded.
But to consider this guy an objective journalist? Please. Browsing a few of his articles at Salon bring nothing but an absolute slew of articles that absolutely reek of left.
PrivateCitizen
07-21-10, 16:18
They just offered her job back and apologies... blahblahblah...
Ugh. They are all charlatans at a circus, anyway.
montanadave
07-21-10, 16:18
I'm sure plenty will disagree, but, having watched Ms. Sherrod's remarks in their entirety, the only person I have any respect for in this entire debacle is Shirley Sherrod.
The media, the NAACP, and the administration all acted shamefully in their respective attempts to either smear this women for political gain or distance themselves from her while seeking political cover.
I'm not claiming anything. The Sherrod's said it themselves.
No Sherrod is the woman who said "I didn't give him the full force of what I could do" for racial reasons.
The Spooner's are the ones who claimed she helped them.
Who are we to believe the person making the claim she discriminated based on race (regardless of a claim later in the story that this incident led to a change of heart... where she abandoned racism and embraced class warfare) or the people who say they weren't discriminated against by the person who admitted doing so?
This is a typical left wing BS 2+2=5 situation. She confesses she discriminated, the victims disagree.
1. She did discriminate, but for whatever reason the victims don't see it that way or don't want to agree she did because they don't want to be in the public spotlight.
2. She made some shit up to try to make a point about race. This is very believable given she is a Democrat talking to the NAACP and they do this all the time.
The bottom line is the NAACP makes charges against the Tea Party with no evidence and got burned by the kind of racially charged crap they talk about on a regular basis.
But that's not the story. The story is how quickly the Obama administration and the NAACP threw Sherrod under the bus without even making an attempt to verify the the facts.
LOL! Did you miss during the election when Obama threw both his own Grandmother and his preacher of 20 years under the bus?
Why would you expect courage from this administration rather than expedient damage control?
Nathan_Bell
07-21-10, 16:56
LOL! Did you miss during the election when Obama threw both his own Grandmother and his preacher of 20 years under the bus?
Why would you expect courage from this administration rather than expedient damage control?
Have to wonder if Breitbart set it up to try and get the administration to go this route.
rickrock305
07-21-10, 17:12
OK, you bolded this so you get to back it up …
Please direct me to the 'Tea Party' website and show me where they, the organization, commented on this and an organization. Not Fox, not Breitbart, the Tea Party site. Either it was said or it wasn't.
And, if I may, a link will do … please don't post every article you find in full. They are always just a click away.
http://www.teaparty.org/article.php?id=144
http://www.teapartypatriots.org/-Click on News and there's a few different articles.
and please, lets not pretend Breitbart isn't an active tea party spokesman.
PrivateCitizen
07-21-10, 17:23
http://www.teaparty.org/article.php?id=144
http://www.teapartypatriots.org/-Click on News and there's a few different articles.
and please, lets not pretend Breitbart isn't an active tea party spokesman.
You sort of helped me make my point by citing multiple end-participant sites. It is not a centralized organization and the efforts in general to pan the entire lot of "tea party" minds is in itself a stereotype.
It was irresponsible for many to comment on the scenario as swiftly and critically as they did, and I am not in any way defending that in any way. The problems in America are larger than that of the thread topic. Just about everyone, up-to-and-including the White House, overreacted and without facts or proper context.
I'm sure plenty will disagree, but, having watched Ms. Sherrod's remarks in their entirety, the only person I have any respect for in this entire debacle is Shirley Sherrod.
So she helped the famer, big ****ing deal. She still had to go through her "racist issues" song and dance before doing the right thing. She is no better than a white racists who despite his personal racial issues does the right thing in the end.
We don't need racists in government. Nobody should have to wait for a person to go through their personal issues to do their job correctly.
And the NAACP crowd was pretty receptive to the "racism" before she got to the moral of her story.
Belmont31R
07-21-10, 17:43
Amazing how easily people are taken in over and over by Faux news and professional liar Breitbart. But then you pretty much have to want to be taken in by professional liars like this to believe anything they say. This story is not over and if you make a meager attempt to get your information from multiple sources you will see why.
But then to go on and pontificate as to liberals believe this or that, like people can be so easily classified or you somehow know this is utter silliness. Based on some nonsense like this?
It also means you are playing into the hands of those who want us all to think and react like this instead of facing real issues.
^^^^ A bunch of words that don't actually do anything.
If you are going to take pot shots you have to explain yourself. No one cares unless you can articulate what you are trying to say. Faux News? Seriously? The only reported what was on the tape, and that was what Breitbart had. He was not sent the entire tape. Its no ones fault but their own if they took an edited video, and ran with it. Fox nor Breitbart fired anyone. Obama, in yet another knee jerk reaction without having all the facts, made an ass out of themselves.
Most of us are reading stories from multiple sources. You think we all just sit around watching Fox all day?
No Sherrod is the woman who said "I didn't give him the full force of what I could do" for racial reasons.
The Spooner's are the ones who claimed she helped them.
Who are we to believe the person making the claim she discriminated based on race (regardless of a claim later in the story that this incident led to a change of heart... where she abandoned racism and embraced class warfare) or the people who say they weren't discriminated against by the person who admitted doing so?
This is a typical left wing BS 2+2=5 situation. She confesses she discriminated, the victims disagree.
1. She did discriminate, but for whatever reason the victims don't see it that way or don't want to agree she did because they don't want to be in the public spotlight.
2. She made some shit up to try to make a point about race. This is very believable given she is a Democrat talking to the NAACP and they do this all the time.
The bottom line is the NAACP makes charges against the Tea Party with no evidence and got burned by the kind of racially charged crap they talk about on a regular basis.
Exactly. Thank you.
Belmont31R
07-21-10, 17:48
So she helped the famer, big ****ing deal. She still had to go through her "racist issues" song and dance before doing the right thing. She is no better than a white racists who despite his personal racial issues does the right thing in the end.
We don't need racists in government. Nobody should have to wait for a person to go through their personal issues to do their job correctly.
And the NAACP crowd was pretty receptive to the "racism" before she got to the moral of her story.
Exactly. She has racial issues still to this day if she goes out of her way to speak at the NAACP. There are plenty of straight forward black people who want nothing to do with groups like the NAACP because the NAACP are the race baiters and pushing things beyond equality. If you are black, and don't toe the NAACP line you are an uncle tom to them (basically a race traitor).
Not like its a big surprise to anyone but yes the NAACP is racist, and their reception to her remarks BEFORE they knew she was going to say she learned its not about race is just one of many episodes of them either directly being racists or supporting someone else being racist. IMO the NAACP, today, is no better than the KKK or any other group that serves itself by being racist, make up racial issues where none exists, etc. Yet no one wants to say anything least they be labeled racists themselves.
variablebinary
07-21-10, 18:21
I have no freaking sympathy for this woman.
Though it is fun to watch the libtards put on this massive dog and pony show to clean up this mess.
I have no freaking sympathy for this woman.
Though it is fun to watch the libtards put on this massive dog and pony show to clean up this mess.
No different than the smoke and mirrors "He was just a product of his time" white wash given to Senator "KKK" Byrd when he died. Funny how my Grandfather lived during the same period and managed to not join the KKK.
variablebinary
07-21-10, 21:19
All the lefty morons are coming to this woman's defense. MSNBC is on fire over this topic.
Personally, I would never stick my neck out for someone that has racists leanings on any level. All this backpedaling could get incredibly ugly if there is any other footage of her making any wonky comments anywhere.
Though, this whole topic is incredibly amusing. This is better than watching South Park.
SW-Shooter
07-21-10, 21:35
They just offered her job back and apologies... blahblahblah...
Wrong. They offered her a promotion. A promotion for admitting she had racist views and that those views affected her decisions using the power of the U.S. Government, of which she represents and is an employee of.
Turn this around and have it come from a white guy and heads would have literally rolled.
This is not a story of reconciliation. She told this story at a NAACP convention, listen to the audience, listen to her words. She is a racist and made decisions based on race. She should have been terminated, period!
Belmont31R
07-21-10, 21:39
All the lefty morons are coming to this woman's defense. MSNBC is on fire over this topic.
Personally, I would never stick my neck out for someone that has racists leanings on any level. All this backpedaling could get incredibly ugly if there is any other footage of her making any wonky comments anywhere.
Though, this whole topic is incredibly amusing. This is better than watching South Park.
I watched the original video, and a retard could tell it was edited. The WH, the USDA, et al, ran with it what was CLEARLY an edited video.
The point of posting it was to expose the NAACP for cheering on racial bias/discrimination after they had just declared Tea Party members as racist.
Its complete icing the cake the Obama admin made yet another knee jerk reaction to incomplete info. Are they going to have another beer summit?
While Im not going to label this woman a racist she clearly still has race on her mind if she is going out of her way to speak at a NAACP event. We all say and do stupid things in life...but going to the NAACP to speak 24 years later doesn't exactly bode well for her being over her racial issues.
this is sounding to me more and more like a setup
naacp says they were snookered by Fox news ? yet they had the complete tape hmmmmm
first condemn then realize OH NO FOX news is not real news they are liars and dont report real news boo hoo they thought they could trust them but no they are racist liars who have a agenda
who was it cnn that also said this and one other news ? hmmmm all like the name faux news that sorros fans use ? seems he is the man behind the curtain on a lot of this along with the naacp to try to setup then discredit fox news
just the fact she was saying she was going to be on GB ? but OH NO he took her side !!!!!! bet they did not see that coming but BO took the bait ? but then again he is loosing it and becoming lost so oh well
its amazing what the left will do to bait people in and then giggle about it like little children its sad really sad what they are doing to this country
variablebinary
07-21-10, 21:56
Wrong. They offered her a promotion. A promotion for admitting she had racist views and that those views affected her decisions using the power of the U.S. Government, of which she represents and is an employee of.
This is exactly what I mean. You just know that every conservative and Republican sympathizer out there is digging into this woman's past. If they find one thing, just one, this shit is going to blow up big time in the White House's face
God forbid its a comment caught on video. Ohhhh boy, I cant even imagine.
Belmont31R
07-21-10, 21:58
This is exactly what I mean. You just know that every conservative and Republican sympathizer out there is digging into this woman's past. If they find one thing, just one, this shit is going to blow up big time in the White House's face
God forbid its a comment caught on video. Ohhhh boy, I cant even imagine.
Its amateur hour in government now. Would anything less really be all that surprising anymore?
GermanSynergy
07-21-10, 22:29
This is exactly what I mean. You just know that every conservative and Republican sympathizer out there is digging into this woman's past. If they find one thing, just one, this shit is going to blow up big time in the White House's face
God forbid its a comment caught on video. Ohhhh boy, I cant even imagine.
It won't matter. The msm will go into PC overdrive to protect her, no matter what tapes are leaked, what evidence is presented, etc.
ThirdWatcher
07-22-10, 05:09
We don't need racists in government. Nobody should have to wait for a person to go through their personal issues to do their job correctly.
Absolutely right!
montanadave
07-22-10, 08:28
We don't need racists in government. Nobody should have to wait for a person to go through their personal issues to do their job correctly.
Ms. Sherrod's interaction with the Spooner family, during which she confronted her own racist attitudes and reached an epiphany of sorts regarding her need to advocate for the poor and disenfranchised, regardless of race, took place in 1986 when she was employed by a private non-profit group. And the Spooners, with assistance from Ms. Sherrod, kept their farm.
I am unaware of any allegations of misconduct, malfeasance, or impropriety against Ms. Sherrod during her tenure as a public employee with the USDA.
Ms. Sherrod's interaction with the Spooner family, during which she confronted her own racist attitudes and reached an epiphany of sorts regarding her need to advocate for the poor and disenfranchised, regardless of race, took place in 1986 when she was employed by a private non-profit group. And the Spooners, with assistance from Ms. Sherrod, kept their farm.
I am unaware of any allegations of misconduct, malfeasance, or impropriety against Ms. Sherrod during her tenure as a public employee with the USDA.
Nice try at a whitewash.
The Spooner family still had to rely on a "racist" to do the right thing. Nobody "in need" should have to put up with that crap as well. And she fully admitted she didn't give all the help she could have. And that was clearly the purpose of her job.
And we don't need such people in government.
It won't matter. The msm will go into PC overdrive to protect her, no matter what tapes are leaked, what evidence is presented, etc.
They already are. She's already gotten an apology for being shown as a racist and has a brand new job offer with the government. Now she's a ****ing hero.
:rolleyes:
Gang...i am pulling this from another forum i frequent.
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http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/...errod_sty.html
Forty Acres & a Mule -- Sherrod Style?
Rosslyn Smith
Shirley Sherrod's quick dismissal from the Obama administration may have had less to do with her comments on race before the NAACP than her long involvement in the aptly named Pigford case, a class action against the US government on behalf of black farmers alleging that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) had discriminated against black farmers during the period from 1983 through 1997. According to Wikipedia:
The plaintiffs settled with the government in 1999. Under the consent decree, all African American farmers would be paid a "virtually automatic" US$50,000 plus granted certain loan forgiveness and tax offsets. This process was called "Track A".[2]
Alternatively, affected farmers could follow the "Track B" process, seeking a larger payment by presenting a greater amount of evidence - the legal standard in this case was to have a preponderance of evidence along with evidence of greater damages....
At the time the case was settled, it was estimated there would be in the area of 2,000 to 3,000 claims. As with most estimates involving government handouts that number was woefully short of the mark. Again, according to Wikipedia:
22,505 "Track A" applications were heard and decided upon, of which 13,348 (59%) were approved. US$995 million had been disbursed or credited to the "Track A" applicants as of January 2009, including US$760 million disbursed as US$50,000 cash awards. Fewer than 200 farmers opted for the "Track B" process.
Beyond those applications that were heard and decided upon, about 70,000 petitions were filed late and were not allowed to proceed. Some have argued that the notice program was defective, and others blamed the farmers' attorneys for "the inadequate notice and overall mismanagement of the settlement agreement." A provision in the 2008 farm bill essentially allowed a re-hearing in civil court for any claimant whose claim had been denied without a decision that had been based on its merits
In other words, according to Agri-Pulse.com the number of total claims filed not only exceeded the original estimate by almost 40 to 50 times, it is close to four times the USDA's estimate of 26,785 total black owned farms in 1977! One reason for this is that the settlement applied to farmers and those who "attempted to farm" and did not receive assistance from the USDA. Getting the latest round of Pigford cases from the 2008 farm bill settled is said to be a high priority for the Obama administration.
So where does Sherrod come into this picture? In a special to the Washington Examiner, Tom Blumer explains that Sherrod and the group she formed along with family members and others, New Communities. Inc. received the largest single settlement under Pigford.
... New Communities is due to receive approximately $13 million ($8,247,560 for loss of land and $4,241,602 for loss of income; plus $150,000 each to Shirley and Charles for pain and suffering). There may also be an unspecified amount in forgiveness of debt. This is the largest award so far in the minority farmers law suit (Pigford vs Vilsack).
What makes this even more interesting to me is that Charles appears to be Charles Sherrod, who was a big player in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the early 1960s. The SNCC was the political womb that nurtured the Black Power movement and the Black Panthers before it faded away.
Blumer has some questions about this settlement and about Sherrod's rapid departure from the USDA
Was Ms. Sherrod's USDA appointment an unspoken condition of her organization's settlement?
How much "debt forgiveness" is involved in USDA's settlement with New Communities?
Why were the Sherrods so deserving of a combined $300,000 in "pain and suffering" payments -- amounts that far exceed the average payout thus far to everyone else? ($1.15 billion divided by 16,000 is about $72,000)?
Given that New Communities wound down its operations so long ago (it appears that this occurred sometime during the late 1980s), what is really being done with that $13 million in settlement money?
Here are a few bigger-picture questions:
Did Shirley Sherrod resign so quickly because the circumstances of her hiring and the lawsuit settlement with her organization that preceded it might expose some unpleasant truths about her possible and possibly sanctioned conflicts of interest?
Is USDA worried about the exposure of possible waste, fraud, and abuse in its handling of Pigford?
Did USDA also dispatch Sherrod hastily because her continued presence, even for another day, might have gotten in the way of settling Pigford matters quickly?
I second his conclusion that the media and bloggers shouldn't be so quick to dismiss Shirley Sherrod. Let me start by adding another question to the list. In her position at not for profit, Rural Development Leadership Network, a network of activists and community builder, was Sherrod involved in any way in encouraging people to submit fraudulent claims under Pigford? Did she put black people who owned rural land in touch with lawyers who would file the paperwork claiming attempts to farm had been prevented by the non cooperation of the local USDA?
I ask because there are a multitude of small parcels of non productive rural land all across the south, land unsuitable for mechanized agriculture that was once owned by subsistence farmers, black and white alike. Many of these parcels continue to be owned by family members who moved elsewhere out of sentimental reasons. The property taxes and other carrying costs are cheap and often ancestors are buried there in family plots. A drive on any country road in the South may turn up several carefully maintained postage stamp sized family cemeteries. As I read Blumer, I wondered how many of the owners claimed they had attempted to farm just such acreage to score a fast $50,000 from Uncle Sam?
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1) She borrowed money from the USDA
2) She tried to borrow more money from the USDA and was refused.
3) She didn't pay the first loan back.
4) She sues the USDA
5) One year ago (after the last Presidential election) USDA settles with her behind closed doors for $13,000,000 plus debt forgiveness.
6) She immediately gets a political appointment to a high level USDA job.
Did I mention that Obama as a senator co-sponsored a bill to allocate another 1.25 billion to pay Pigford claims for black farmers that "farmed or attempted to farm?"
They didn't even have to apply for a USDA loan. All they had to do was fill out an affidavit that they "attempted to farm" and they got $50,000.
Check out this article from May 12, 2009. Shirley Sherrod (quoted in the middle of the article) was still a "community organizer" working as the director for the "Federation of Southern Cooperatives".
http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=10349434
So IMMEDIATELY AFTER she extorts 13 million from the USDA she gets appointed to the USDA by the Obama administration?
Oh BTW, did I mention that the bill Obama co-sponsored to get the 1.25 billion allocated did not pass?
Did I mention that Obama's original 1.25 billion dollar bill (that didn't pass when he was a senator) is currently attached to the Emergency Defense appropriation bill?
Yeah, theres a bigger story here.
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