Special Comment On The Shirley Sherrod Scandal
Posted by Michelle Moquin on July 23rd, 2010
Nora & Keith, & Lisa: Thanks to all of you for posting such a hot topic – I know that you couldn’t get it all in, so I’m adding what I found plus the video for those of my readers interested.
Readers: Well worth the read and the watch:
Keith Olbermann Blasts Fox News Over Shirley Sherrod, Begs Obama To Stop Enabling Them (VIDEO)
Keith Olbermann suspended his vacation Wednesday night to return to “Countdown” with a Special Comment on the Shirley Sherrod scandal.
Olbermann blasted Fox News and right-wing media while at the same time calling upon President Obama to respond forcefully against their continued smear campaign.
“What you see on Fox News, what you read on Right Wing websites, is the utter and complete perversion of journalism, and it can have no place in a civilized society,” Olbermann said. “It is words crashed together, never to inform, only to inflame. It is a political guillotine. It is the manipulation of reality to make the racist seem benevolent, and to convict the benevolent as racist — even if her words must be edited, filleted, stripped of all context, rearranged, fabricated, and falsified, to do so.”
But Olbermann added that “this evil has not become institutionalized just because of the hard, soul-less work of Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes and the scum [Andrew] Breitbart.” Instead, he said, “the assassins of the Right have been enabled on the Left.”
And Olbermann specifically called upon President Obama to stop enabling the manipulation by staying above the fray and not responding:
The question used to be “fired up?” – and the answer: “Ready to go!” The question now is “fired up?” – the answer now is: “Not ready, because we cannot afford the impression of not looking sufficiently presidential and neutral and inviting a media circus in this atmosphere.”
Olbermann challenged Obama to “come to terms with the fact that while you have spent these first 18 months and one day of your presidency bending over backwards for those others, they have spent this time insisting you are not actually president, or you are a communist, or you are bent on destroying whatever is starring this week in the paranoid fantasies churned out by Fox News and the farcical Breitbart.
“Mr. President, please stop trying to act, every minute, like some noble, neutral figure, chairing a government of equal and dispassionate minds, and contemplative scholars,” he continued. “It is a freaking war out here, and the imagined consensus you seek is years in the future, if ever it is to be re-discovered.”
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
And the topic of racism continues…
Zen Lill: You called Karine out that’s for sure. Love the line “…she’s only prejudiced when she’s dressed.” Too funny.
And now thanks to Samantha the truth is revealed. And what an interesting story it is.
Karine: I bet you just wish you had kept your mouth shut. Hmmm….”Thou protests too much” comes to mind. Well at least it’s out. It seems that you got hurt, very hurt. We all get hurt in relationships that go awry. I feel for you. I can understand you feeling hurt. No one likes to be dumped because of the color their skin. You as a white woman, experienced what so many otws experience on a daily basis: Rejection, strictly because of the color of their skin. It’s not right but it happens all of the time.
I hope that you don’t mind me verbalizing my opinion, but if you are such an intelligent woman why take the racism route? Why act like a racist when there is already so much racism in this world? Unless you are a bigot at heart. But from what Samantha is saying about you, and if Samantha is telling the truth, which at this point, I don’t have any reason to doubt her, I hardly think you are a bigot, clothes or not. (You got to admit that was funny – just trying to lighten it up:)
And I can’t imagine that this experience hasn’t made you more empathetic to what otws experience every day. Express THAT. I HOPE I’m correct, and you’ll show us the intelligent welcoming woman that Samantha says you are and misses.
Evelyn & Harris: Whether you like it or not, you are the hot couple, and the hot topic du jour. Enjoy Dinner – enjoy each other! I HOPE that you get some privacy. :)
It’s Friday…Enjoy it. Peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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July 23rd, 2010 at 10:31 am
Harris
Welcome to London. Crikey, I wouldn’t have the nerve to ask Evelyn out. She’s no doris and she is quick with the lip. She doesn’t suffer malarkey well. So don’t try to get jammy on the first night.
In my book she’s tops.
A distant admirer
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:32 am
COULD YOUR HEART STOP SUDDENLY?
When a young person dies suddenly and inexplicably and drugs aren’t involved, the cause will probably turn out to be sudden cardiac arrest.
If this ever happens to a member of your family — heaven forbid — you must schedule an appointment with your own doctor to determine whether you, too, are in danger.
If I sound a little pushy it’s because I learned from a recent study that when a person under age 50 dies suddenly, an autopsy usually reveals underlying heart disease…
and not uncommonly it turns out there is an underlying genetic problem that puts the rest of the family at higher risk for cardiac arrest as well.
HEARTBREAK FOLLOWED BY HEART DISEASE?
Researchers in Amsterdam studied 127 families in which young members (average age at death was 30) died suddenly and no heart disease had been identified before or after the death.
The research team collected the personal and family medical histories of the victims’ parents, siblings and children and used ECGs to check their heart function.
They then performed additional exams on those who were found to have abnormalities. When possible, the researchers conducted a second cardiac autopsy and performed a genetic study of the cardiac arrest victim as well.
Research findings showed some form of inherited heart disease in the lineage of one-third of the families –
and noted that at present only a small percentage of families of young victims of sudden cardiac death get themselves tested to determine their own status, putting themselves at risk for future problems that can be prevented.
This research was presented at the 2009 annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Vienna.
GET TESTED, SAVE LIVES
I called Gordon F. Tomaselli, MD, chief of the division of cardiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to see what he thought of this study.
He agreed that it is important for people with first-degree relatives who die suddenly to undergo medical evaluation and told me that he’s already a proponent of this practice.
When he encounters such a situation, he collects as much relevant information from family members as he can — taking detailed personal and medical histories and performing physical exams that include ECGs and, often, other cardiac tests such as echocardiograms and cardiac MRIs.
If you experience such a loss, getting your own heart tested may be the last thing you feel like doing under the circumstances — but you should do it anyway.
Consider it heartbreak prevention — by taking care of your own health, you’re doing all you can to be sure the rest of the family doesn’t have to suffer from another unnecessary tragedy.
Source(s): ??Gordon F. Tomaselli, MD, professor of medicine, department of cardiology, professor of medicine and molecular medicine, chief, division of cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.?
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:33 am
Harris
I hope you are loaded cause black girls like the lolly. Without lots of it you won’t be having it off with her kind.
Ann
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:34 am
Mate
I’m going to grab a jar and sit back for the story. Don’t be coy. give us the blow by blow.
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:02 am
Why Ann would portray you as a salt is out of the tree. She’s obviously a jealous plank.
I think it is very romantic that two yanks could meet in London and fall in love.
Brie
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:04 am
Evelyn and Harris
Pay no attention to Ann she has lost the plot. What she said was just naff. We wish you two the best.
Enjoy our beautiful city
Nell
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:21 am
‘Racism’ Video That Led To Firing Federal Official Was Materially Altered
WASHINGTON âÂ?Â? The Obama administration is standing by its quick decision to oust a black Agriculture Department employee over racially tinged remarks at an NAACP…
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:38 am
I love it, yellow roses are for friendship, red for love, Harris your a man after my own heart no matter if it ends romantically or not, there’s no gauging chemistry. Good luck and we needed a hot topic here : ) I think…
Will check video later. Misch, sent u an email re next week. Hope u recd?
Luv, Zen Lill
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:42 am
oh yeah, naked pic of me here. Not likely…my friend suggested selling Ito a European magZine. Apparently I’m too classy for your average American man, he may have a point. Hot pink ass coming up….! Need a minute though, have too much on my personal plate already today/this week/year…sigh…
- ZL
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:56 am
Hey Ann, What up? White girls like their lolly also hon!! : ) -ZL
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:57 am
When Olbermann says, “Mr. President, please stop trying to act, every minute, like some noble, neutral figure, chairing a government of equal and dispassionate minds, and contemplative scholars,” he continued. “It is a freaking war out here, and the imagined consensus you seek is years in the future, if ever it is to be re-discovered.”, I would state that using the verb disover or the prefix Re- would mean that the consensus he refers to was ever discovered…With the mass mentality or consciousness and embedded sociological biases to race throughout the world I beg to differ, as sadly as that is, that we ever had discovered that consensus. I believer there is yet a long road yet ahead of us till we reach that point.
As long as we as a society continue to allow people to think through their asses, rather than understand and education, we will never reach the desired consensus that Olbermann is saying we are trying to RE-discover. I am an optimist, and I feel Keith is as well, which is why I like his program, but we must call it as it is.
July 23rd, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Ditto Doug
July 23rd, 2010 at 1:34 pm
While my daughter and her date are enjoying dinner(a mother can hope). I would like to share an article on food, specifically sodium intake.
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Missing the mark on sodium
At least they’re not pushing more meds.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the USDA have been urging Americans to cut back on salt. And while no one’s ever gotten healthy following U.S. government guidelines, this advice is worth a listen.
Just don’t get carried away–because like any other piece of government advice, following it too closely could get you killed.
The USDA wants to slash the recommended daily intake of sodium by more than a third, to 1,500 mg per day from 2,300 mg per day. Meanwhile, the CDC says Americans have a hard enough time with the old guidelines–just 10 percent of us get less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day, and 17 out of 18 get more than 1,500 mg.
Federal officials say tens of thousands of lives would be saved each year by just reducing salt intake–but that’s debatable. They’re basing these numbers on the belief that lowering salt intake alone will reduce high blood pressure –-and, in turn, lead to fewer deaths by heart disease.
But despite what the mainstream has told you, salt isn’t the main cause of high blood pressure. In fact, the same people who blame sodium will also tell you that they don’t really know what causes essential hypertension, which is responsible for more than 95 percent of all high blood pressure cases.
While sodium can contribute to the problem, it’s just one piece of the blood pressure puzzle. You’ll find one of the other pieces in a simple banana.
I’m talking about potassium, of course, and the human body needs at least three times as much of that as it does sodium. Most people, however, get the opposite–they take in three, four or even five times as much sodium as they do potassium.
And that’s when the problems really begin.
So while there are some great reasons to cut back on salt, don’t throw away your saltshaker. Just make sure you’re getting what you need in the right ratios, in the right balance–and, most importantly, in the right foods.
Here’s a simple way to start: Eliminate all frozen meals and canned foods, which contain enough sodium to preserve an elk, and stop eating meals provided by your local golden arches or any other chain restaurant.
These things aren’t food. They’re sodium-loaded carbs shaped like food.
Instead, just start eating fresh meals–real meats and vegetables cooked at home. You can use salt, just skip the mass-produced dressings and marinades, which are made almost entirely of sodium, high fructose corn syrup and some artificial flavorings.
Finally, no matter what you hear from the mainstream, never try to eliminate sodium–it’s an essential mineral needed by the human body. Too little of it leads to hyponatremia, a disorder that’s a lot more common than many people realize. Signs of hyponatremia include fatigue, convulsions, hallucinations and more.
Too little sodium could even kill you.
But at least you’d be within government guidelines.
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I can re claim my salt shaker
Ruth
July 23rd, 2010 at 1:37 pm
What’s with the stall Zen Lill? And as for a little nudity here? Are you kidding after what we read here from of the most virulent bigots anywhere
A little love, sex, and the elegant Nude Zen Lill is in order.
Larry
July 23rd, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Will someone admit that the nigger has tiny balls. He can’t stand up to a white man. Not even for a poor abused nigger woman.
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Read More: Fox News, Media News, Shep Smith, Shep Smith Fox News, Shepard Smith, Shepard Smith Shirley Sherrod, Smep Smith Shirley Sherrod, Video, Media News
Shep Smith laid into his own network Wednesday, calling out Fox News for its role in hyping the Shirley Sherrod story based on an edited videotape (h/t Mediaite).
Smith’s critique began when he cut into Wednesday’s briefing by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. He opened by naming a long list of participants in the Sherrod affair, from the White House to the NAACP to the Big Government website, which posted the edited video, to “this network,” Fox News — which, he said, was one of the places where the video had been played “totally out of context.”
He went on to explain why his program, unlike others on Fox News, had not covered the story:
“We here at Studio B did not run the video and did not reference the story in any way for many reasons, among them: we didn’t know who shot it, we didn’t know when it was shot, we didn’t know the context of the statement, and because of the history of the videos on the site where it was posted, in short we do not and did not trust the source.”
Smith then brought on Fox News contributor Juan Williams to discuss the firestorm.
“The White House says it is not, but it is clearly obsessed with Glenn Beck,” he said to Williams, citing reports that Sherrod was ordered to resign because she was going to be talked about on Beck’s program the same evening. “Anybody who doubted it can stop doubting it,” Smith said.
He blasted the White House for reacting so drastically, based on:
“an edited videotape on a widely discredited website that has had inaccurate postings of videos in the past–edited to the point where the world was deceived……what in the world has happened to our industry and the White House?…how can they lead and govern if what they’re worried about is something that happens on a cable news channel that they’ve already said doesn’t matter?”
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If this is the pussy you are counting on to defy us, we will win big in November and take back the White House in 2012. The nigger’s a joke
George
July 23rd, 2010 at 2:31 pm
At 2:29 we arrive in San Francisco. Where are the TAO? If we have to we will set off an even bigger earthquake.
You decide TAO
July 23rd, 2010 at 2:47 pm
So white folks are afraid of us. Aren’t in second place as minorities go? Shouldn’t the white folks be afraid of the minorities in first place.
Oh, yeah, maybe that’s why states like Arizona are gearing up to send back the latinos.
Helena
July 23rd, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Why are americans so rabid over blacks being in a America? Most blacks have been in America longer than most whites. Most whites in America today are recent arrivals from Europe.
Blacks were brought to America more than 200 year ago. It would seem they have a better claim to citizenship than anyone except the American Indian.
Members of my family emigrated to America about 80 years ago. We know plenty of families that arrived 20 or more years later. Yet they are one of the most staunch haters of blacks and are always saying they should just go back to Africa.
I’m just saying
Vlad
July 23rd, 2010 at 3:08 pm
My father has prostate cancer. I hope this article will be of service to others who may suffer from it or know someone who is.
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Living with prostate cancer
Prostate cancer isn’t the cold-blooded killer you’ve been led to believe–and a new study shows yet again how the best treatment is often no treatment at all.
That’s because prostate cancer doesn’t actually kill most of the people who get it. In fact, low- and intermediate- risk prostate cancers hardly kill anyone at all.
Swedish researchers crunched the numbers on more than 6,800 men under 70 years old who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and compared what happened to those who underwent treatment to those who did nothing.
And never before has “nothing” meant so much–because while these patients were three times more likely to die of prostate cancer, the overall numbers were so tiny you’d need a microscope to see them.
In fact, the researchers found that just 2.4 percent of the patients who did nothing died of prostate cancer over 10 years. Not only that, but the researchers say the real number may have been even smaller–because many of those who didn’t seek treatment were unhealthier in the first place, according to the study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
In any case, nearly 98 percent of the untreated patients didn’t die of prostate cancer. It’s yet another sign that today’s screenings have gone too far–detecting cancers that never needed to be seen in the first place, because they never would have caused anyone harm.
Some of those screenings actually “detect” phantom cancers that aren’t really there at all–setting patients up for all the pain and misery of treatment, with none of the disease. One study out of Europe earlier this year found that one out of every eight men treated for prostate cancer didn’t actually have the disease.
Whatever happened to “first, do no harm?”
And when it comes to prostate treatments, there is plenty of harm. Men who opt for treatments such as surgery and radiation face impotence, incontinence, painful recoveries, high stress and big bills.
These people call themselves “cancer survivors”–but maybe “treatment survivors” is a better term.
The bottom line here is that many of us suffer from cancer and never know it–because some cancers grow so slowly that they’ll never hurt us. Prostate cancer is a prime example of that.
So if you have a doctor rushing you into treatment, rush yourself to another doctor for a second opinion first.
The numbers are on your side.
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life is worth the fight
Clark
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:37 pm
When the Supreme Court ruled that corporations can spend whatever they want on elections, some wondered how much would change.
Now it’s clear how much trouble we’re in. This week it came out that top corporate lobbying groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce and Karl Rove’s American Crossroads organization have committed more than $200 million to try to buy this year’s elections.1
As Joe Biden would say, this is a big f**king deal.
MoveOn members have launched a major campaign to slam the floodgates shut on corporate cash, and it’s actually off to a flying start, with thousands of volunteers joining in!
But we need money to keep up: for materials to get the word out, skilled organizers to back up all those volunteers, and programmers to expand our web tools.
The Chamber of Commerce has money from BP, Goldman Sachs, AT&T, and the rest. We have … you. To expand the campaign to put the people back in charge of our democracy, we need to raise $200,000.
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:44 pm
As faith in financial institutions has eroded, many people have turned to home safes to store valuable documents, jewelry and even cash.
There are several types to choose from. The best choice for you depends on how much you are willing to spend and how much trouble you are willing to go through to install the safe. In order of increasing protection…
Diversion safes. Convenient and economical, these are small safes that masquerade as common household items, such as food jars, candles and even flowerpots. Priced from about $11 to about $35, they’re reasonably effective for hiding small amounts of cash and small valuables, such as jewelry or credit cards.
If you choose a diversion safe with a label — a jar of peanut butter, for instance — make sure that it looks like a well-known brand, and store it where the real product would actually belong. Sellers include Security Wizard (www.security-wizard.net) and Diversion Safes Online (www.diversionsafesonline.com).
Wall safes. Wall safes create much of their security with concealment — they’re often mounted behind a picture or a mirror. They are usually attached to wall studs and are easy for handy home owners to install. A thief who finds a wall safe and has plenty of time could pry it out with a claw hammer.
Most are water resistant but not fireproof, so shop carefully to find the level of protection you want. Recommended: Perma-Vault WS-100-4-M, key-operated, $189… Cobalt EW03, code plus key security, $229.
Burglary safes. These are essentially steel boxes that are bolted down to concrete slabs. The amount of security and cost depend on how much metal they contain. A good value is a “B-rated” safe, which meets insurance standards set by the Underwriters Laboratories –
½-inch steel in the door, ¼-inch steel in the body and drill-resistant plates around the lock. Installation costs about $150 to $300. Such safes may or may not be fireproof. Recommended: Cobalt S838C, 1.2 cubic feet, 128 pounds, $430. Larger: Mutual RS5, 10 cubic feet, 600 pounds, $1,056. (Discount sellers may charge less.)
Fireproof safes are especially desirable in areas prone to wildfires or earthquakes, and are rated and priced according to how long they can withstand temperatures of 1,250° F to 1,700° F. They generally do not bolt to the floor and are not recommended against theft. Recommended: Honeywell 2087 fire safe, 0.87 cubic feet, $275.
Floor safes reside in the ground under your floor or in the backyard and can be set in concrete — so they are both hidden and tough to move. Recommended: Amsec B1500 floor safe, 1,377 cubic inches, about $420.
Jewelry safes. These are designed to resist sophisticated safecrackers, are bolted down to concrete slabs and are fire-rated. The smallest weighs around 500 pounds, so installation is expensive, starting at $300. Recommended: Hayman MV15-2016, 610 pounds, 2.28 cubic foot interior, $1,498.
Bottom Line/Wealth interviewed Zachary Gilmore, president of ValueSafes.com. Based in Corpus Christi, Texas, he consults on home and commercial security issues and ships safes nationwide directly from manufacturers.
July 24th, 2010 at 7:59 am
And what was the culmination of events that led you to file this action?” asked the man’s attorney in the divorce hearing.
“All through our marriage my wife was less than fully responsive to my sexual initiatives,” Replied the husband, “but the clincher came one morning at the breakfast table when she announced, “Just so you won’t be building up you hopes all day, I’m already beginning to get a headache.”
July 24th, 2010 at 8:17 am
Evelyn and Harris
I couldn’t get in yesterday to add my to cents to all the advice and comments on your first date. I hope it went well(yes, I’m prying). But now that we have heard the Brits in whatever language they call english (i didn’t understand any of it.) an American opinion is long over do.
Here is mine. – The Prelude to Love is Longing…and Plotting.
Go figure that one out Brits
Wishing you two the best
Nancy
July 24th, 2010 at 8:39 am
As we discuss Mrs. Sherrod and how the Obama administration treated her. This synopsis by Michael Brenner comes to mine. I think it was printed in the Huff Post January 13, 2010.
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Michael Brenner: We have in Obama a president who is what we used to call a moderate Republican before the species became extinct.
That means suspicions of government programs, a strong belief that we should always give private interests the benefit of the doubt, an assumption that the rich deserve their riches, and an insensitivity to the plight of salaried Americans.
Abroad, Obama is ready to deploy military might in dubious causes defined by the country’s hawkish defense establishment. Far-fetched? Let’s take a clear eyed look at what President Obama actually has done and said.
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So how far off was this guy?
Carl
July 24th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Michelle
It is my lunch time here. I usually read your blog at this time. Where’s the blog. I know you people in San Francisco are laid back, but this is stretching it a bit don’t you think?
Lanny and boys