I officially give up: American political discourse is hopeless

[The Mad Monk]

And how does this abrogate the need for good journalism on the part of Fox? Considering when that email was sent, there was plenty of time to contact Sherrod, but nobody did so. Fox spent all Tuesday broadcasting the edited clip over and over, when they could have spoken to Sherrod first and discovered that it was a fraud. They failed to do so, thus giving a false impression of the facts to millions of viewers that should not have been given. That's piss-poor journalism by any measure.



In my mind, the email Clemente sent is clearly showing they were "touching" the story. How is telling your staff to investigate it not "touching" it?

Wait. Are you suggesting they shouldn't even investigate it?

[Boris Godunov]

Wait. Are you suggesting they shouldn't even investigate it?

No. Where'd you get that idea?

I think proper journalism should begin with contacting the person at the center of the storm for her response.

Clemente made the claim the network "didn't touch" the story until after she resigned, which is at least an exaggeration, considering the O'Reilly broadcast and that he himself told his staff to investigate it, which in my mind definitely constitutes "touching" it. Furthermore, while their TV news broadcasts may not have run the story prior to the resignation, foxnews.com certainly did:

http://mediamatters.org/research/201007220004

On July 19, FoxNews.com reported: "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." The FoxNews.com article further reported that "[t]he video clip was first posted by BigGovernment.com" and that "FoxNews.com is seeking a response from both the NAACP and the USDA." The article is no longer available on FoxNews.com but was republished on another website:

The story makes no mention of her resignation, so appears to have been written and published prior to that. It was also published on The Fox Nation prior to her resignation with the headline "Caught on Tape: Obama Official Discriminates Against White Farmer," a title that was later altered to reflect that she had resigned. So Fox News seems to me to be lying by claiming they didn't run the story until after she resigned. They even scrubbed it from their site to cover their asses.

Why they or Breitbart couldn't have contacted Sherrod to get a response before going to press with a story that ended up being untrue, I can only guess. Then again, the idea that Breitbart is a "journalist" seems to pretty much have gone down the toilet with this fiasco. If there was any concern with credibility in the modern media, he'd forever be a laughing stock for committing one of the most basic forms of journalistic malpractice imaginable.

[MrFun]

What do you think?

To be fair, I think his overall point with the special (didn't watch the whole thing but it's what I got from his conversation with one of the panelists) was that liberal historians have been systematically 'white-washing' history and ignoring the contributions of minorities. He had a political agenda behind it but I could be wrong. Also, that little partisan selfishness doesn't really undo the good of educating people.

You got it backwards. Conservatives tend to whitewash history of wrongs done by people (especially those of their own country) while liberals want more coverage and discussion about minority groups and wrongs.

[Al B. Sure!]

You got it backwards. Conservatives tend to whitewash history of wrongs done by people (especially those of their own country) while liberals want more coverage and discussion about minority groups and wrongs.

That's not what Glenn Beck or his panelist believe, MrFun. They believe that liberals systematically have erased minority contributions in order to make them look even more downtrodden and helpless without the beneficence of Liberal White America. Glenn Beck is pointing out that yes, minorities have been wronged significantly, but there have been many courageous and capable individuals who despite everything managed to contribute greatly and their achievements should not be hidden by the Liberal agenda, but held up as the standard of what can be achieved in America and what contributed to the formation of his country.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Al B correct. Most conservatives get all sappy and gooey when stories like "The Pursuit of Happiness" or "The Blindside" are portrayed.

[Drake Tungsten]

"The Pursuit of Happyness"

Fixed.

[Straybow]

[Q=gribbler;5839220]

As for Sherrod, her "it's about the haves and have-nots" in which she generously allows that whites can be have-nots, and her some-of-my-friends-are-white defense, are both lame. She still doesn't get it, and is still as racist as her audience.

In what sense is "it's about the haves and have-nots" racist? [/Q] Because it's "Haves are white and have-nots are black. Errr, and latinos and stuff, except a few of them are white. But whenever we talk about taking the haves down they're white, and giving to the have-nots, they're black. And sometimes other non-whites. And the whites who are have-nots, we'll let their own take care of them."

And that's considered a great moral awakening for Sherrod?!?

[Boris Godunov]

And the whites who are have-nots, we'll let their own take care of them."

And that's considered a great moral awakening for Sherrod?!?

You've got to be kidding me. Are you still relying on the edited video? The entire point of her story is that she awoke to the idea that "we'll let their own take care of them" is wrong. That's why she then did all she could to help the white farmer save his farm, because she realized it wasn't about race.

Directly from her speech:

Well, working with him made me see that it's really about those who have versus those who don't, you know. And they could be black, and they could be white; they could be Hispanic. And it made me realize then that I needed to work to help poor people -- those who don't have access the way others have.

Like I told you, God helped me to see that it's not just about black people -- it's about poor people. And I've come a long way. I knew that I couldn't live with hate, you know. As my mother has said to so many, "If we had tried to live with hate in our hearts, we'd probably be dead now."

But I've come to realize that we have to work together and -- you know, it's sad that we don't have a room full of white and blacks here tonight, 'cause we have to overcome the divisions that we have. We have to get to the point where, as Tony Morrison said, "Race exists but it doesn't matter." We have to work just as hard. I know it's -- you know, that division is still here, but our communities are not going to thrive -- you know, our children won't have the -- the communities that they need to be able to stay in and live in and -- and have a good life if we can't figure this out, you all. White people, black people, Hispanic people, we all have to do our part to make our communities a safe place, a healthy place, a good environment.

You're grossly misrepresenting what she said. Sweet Jesus, I'd expect BK to be this dishonest...

[Dr Strangelove]

Let's not forget that Fox news initiated the ACORN pimp story, yet we've never seen unedited versions of those tapes.

[Dr Strangelove]

That's not what Glenn Beck or his panelist believe, MrFun. They believe that liberals systematically have erased minority contributions in order to make them look even more downtrodden and helpless without the beneficence of Liberal White America. Glenn Beck is pointing out that yes, minorities have been wronged significantly, but there have been many courageous and capable individuals who despite everything managed to contribute greatly and their achievements should not be hidden by the Liberal agenda, but held up as the standard of what can be achieved in America and what contributed to the formation of his country.

Odd, I thought it was liberals who initiated Black History month and Martin Luther King day. You have no idea how much stink that caused down here in Virginia, where in reaction we've seen a resurgence in "Lee / Jackson" day. That's right, down here if you're going to give kids MLK day off you have to give them a day off to remember Robert E.Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

[Dr Strangelove]

What do you think?

To be fair, I think his overall point with the special (didn't watch the whole thing but it's what I got from his conversation with one of the panelists) was that liberal historians have been systematically 'white-washing' history and ignoring the contributions of minorities. He had a political agenda behind it but I could be wrong. Also, that little partisan selfishness doesn't really undo the good of educating people.

He's being quite disingenious then. Black contributions to American history were pretty much deliberately ignored by previous generations of history teachers. There was a time in the South when a teacher would have been ripped apart for suggesting that blacks made significant contributions to the foundation of history, Maybe instead of blaming liberals he should blame, yep, you guessed it - the Texas school board.

[Guynemer]

[Q=gribbler;5839220]

As for Sherrod, her "it's about the haves and have-nots" in which she generously allows that whites can be have-nots, and her some-of-my-friends-are-white defense, are both lame. She still doesn't get it, and is still as racist as her audience.

In what sense is "it's about the haves and have-nots" racist? [/Q] Because it's "Haves are white and have-nots are black. Errr, and latinos and stuff, except a few of them are white. But whenever we talk about taking the haves down they're white, and giving to the have-nots, they're black. And sometimes other non-whites. And the whites who are have-nots, we'll let their own take care of them."

And that's considered a great moral awakening for Sherrod?!?

This post is an affront to Space Ghost and any human being with even basic comprehension skills.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

On the grounds that it is the moral and correct thing to do absolutely. On the grounds that it sets himself up for an admission of guilt that can be used aginst him legally probably not. Given that Breitbart is a journalist morals and correctness probably have little to no bearing. Onlys slightly more so than your average pol.

And as if on cue the law suits begin

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0710/Sherrod_to_sue_Breitbart.html?showall

[Guynemer]

I think that he deserves to get his ass sued off, but I'm not sure this is a case she can win. Can she prove that he either edited the video, or knew that it had been edited in bad faith by whomever sent it to him? Even if she can prove that, can she prove damages, as she is likely to make more money now (through books or speaking opportunities) than she did before?

[Guynemer]

Incidentally, I have just learned that the comments section of that Politico article is frightening is so, so many ways.