usda official admits she lowballed a white farmer who

[calfoxwc]

<H2 id=article-title class=entry-title>racism is the weapon of choice by the obamao regime

 

and for who can gain by leveraging it

************************************

Video Shows USDA Official Saying She Didn't Give 'Full Force' of Help to White Farmer</H2>

 

Published July 20, 2010

 

| FoxNews.com

 

•  

  Shown here is USDA Georgia official Shirley Sherrod. (YouTube)

 

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,

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.

 

The NAACP released a statement late Monday condemning Sherrod's admission.

 

"We are appalled by her actions, just as we are with abuses of power against farmers of color and female farmers," the statement said.

 

"Her actions were shameful," it continued. "While she went on to explain in the story that she ultimately realized her mistake, as well as the common predicament of working people of all races, she gave no indication she had attempted to right the wrong she had done to this man."

 

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.

 

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."

 

 

[Speedyd900rr]

"We are appalled by her actions, just as we are with abuses of power against farmers of color and female farmers," the statement said.

 

 

Even when they apologize for her being racist towards a white man they still have to toss in that whole "just as we are with abuses of power against farmers of color" statement. These people use every chance they get to play the race card. How pathetic.

[VaporTrail]

The NAACP has just as many racists associated with it as the tea party does.

[calfoxwc]

you need to love Fox...

 

 

here is an update,,, 9Glenn Beck)..

 

the clip is about an incident from 1986 !!!!!. that's decades ago.

 

the statement was also ou7t of contesxt.

 

See, she was telling this it about back then, and explained that she found out that is isnt about

 

black and white, it's about poor vs rich.

 

And this vid was available since when? march?

 

She was a political scapegoat in a devious cya/shot at tea partiers. She actually should get her job back.

 

She and the white farmer later became good friends to this day.... seems to be a nice lady.

 

But, the obamao admin and the NAACP have to engage and drag down the tea party movement.

 

They had no honor in the first place, and it's all out marxist corrupt mobilization to take down the tea partiers,

 

and Palin,

 

and even the conservatives on the SC, as well as Congress' power.

 

We're in big, big troule.

[calfoxwc]

<H2 id=article-title class=entry-title>Forcing Ga. Official to Resign Over YouTube Clip was the Right Call, Agriculture Chief Says</H2>

 

Published July 20, 2010

 

| FoxNews.com

 

•  

  Shown here is USDA Georgia official Shirley Sherrod. (YouTube)

 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday stood by his decision to demand the resignation of a Georgia official over a controversial YouTube clip, though the ex-official claimed afterward that the Obama administration never gave her a chance to tell her side of the story.

 

Shirley Sherrod, the department's ex-Georgia director of Rural Development, said the White House forced her out after the video surfaced showing her telling a story about how she withheld help to a white farmer in trouble. But she claimed

omitted key context and that the administration just got scared.

 

"They were not interested in hearing the truth. No one wanted to hear the truth," she said in a television interview Tuesday morning.

 

Still, after intense media coverage of the fallout from the resignation, Vilsack released a written statement Tuesday afternoon defending and explaining his decision. He said the controversy itself was enough to make her job difficult.

 

"Yesterday, I asked for and accepted Ms. Sherrod's resignation for two reasons. First, for the past 18 months, we have been working to turn the page on the sordid civil rights record at USDA and this controversy could make it more difficult to move forward on correcting injustices. Second, state rural development directors make many decisions and are often called to use their discretion," he said. "The controversy surrounding her comments would create situations where her decisions, rightly or wrongly, would be called into question making it difficult for her to bring jobs to Georgia."

 

Administration officials said the White House had nothing to do with Vilsack's decision. Vilsack repeated an earlier statement that the USDA has "zero tolerance for discrimination."

 

But the NAACP, after earlier condemning Sherrod, reversed its position Tuesday and called on Vilsack to "reconsider."

 

NAACP CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous originally released a statement overnight calling Sherrod's comments "shameful" and saying the group was "appalled by her actions." But after Sherrod started telling her side of the story, the NAACP said it would conduct an "investigation" and review the full tape, which was shot for the NAACP by DCTV.

 

Late Tuesday, Jealous effectively retracted his earlier statement and blamed the media for the confusion.

 

"With regard to the initial media coverage of the resignation of USDA official Shirley Sherrod, 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," he said. "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."

 

He said "the fact is" Sherrod helped the farmers mentioned in her remarks and called the issue a "false controversy."

 

It remains unclear who edited and released the video. Breitbart's BigGovernment.com featured the video clip early Monday. Vilsack announced Sherrod's resignation shortly after FoxNews.com's initial story Monday evening, for which Sherrod could not be reached for comment. FoxNews.com was unable to obtain a copy of the full video.

 

The wife of the farmer who was the subject of Sherrod's story also told FoxNews.com on Tuesday that there was no discrimination. She said the administration should not have forced out Sherrod, who actually helped the couple save their farm.

 

"She'll always be my friend," Eloise Spooner said. She said the incident Sherrod was referring to happened more than two decades ago and that she and her husband Roger worked together closely to keep the farm out of foreclosure.

 

"I don't think they gave her a chance to tell really what happened," Eloise Spooner said. "I don't think they'll find anybody that can fill the job any better than she did. That's my opinion."

 

The video clip that launched the controversy is two-and-a-half minutes long. In it, Sherrod describes "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 handled the situation.

 

"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."

 

Sherrod explained in the video that, at the time, she assumed the state or federal 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 ex-official first told her side of the story in an interview overnight with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She said that in the clip she was telling a story about events that happened 24 years ago when she was working for a local nonprofit group. She added that she worked with the farmer for two years to help save his farm from foreclosure.

 

But the point of her story wasn't entirely clear from the clip.

 

"It was revealed to me that it's about poor versus those who have," she said toward the end, suggesting she had learned that race is less important.

 

Spooner told FoxNews.com that Sherrod's story did not "bother" her. She explained that Sherrod did not send them directly to the white lawyer, either -- she said she initially suggested a black lawyer and a white lawyer, and that the couple saw the black lawyer first. After several months, the black lawyer had to withdraw from the case, citing too much workload, Spooner said. The couple then visited the white lawyer, with Sherrod's help, she said.

 

Spooner said Sherrod did not display discrimination. Asked about the claim that her husband was acting "superior" during that first conversation, Spooner said: "That's just his way."

 

Sherrod on Tuesday told CNN she blamed the NAACP, which put out a statement condemning her for her remarks overnight. Sherrod claimed the NAACP never contacted her and that the civil rights group's high-profile fight with the Tea Party over allegations of racism set the stage for her forced resignation.

 

"They are the reason why this happened," she said.

 

Sherrod added that an administration official "harassed" her with warnings about the attention she was going to receive after the video surfaced.

 

Cheryl Cook, deputy undersecretary for Rural Development, called her several times on Monday to eventually demand her resignation on behalf of the White House. Sherrod was driving at the time and said Cook told her to pull over to the side of the road to resign, "because you're going to be on Glenn Beck tonight."

 

She said the whole video would reveal that she eventually came to work closely with the white farmer and that she was trying to impart a lesson about how important it is to get "beyond the issue of race."

 

"I went on to work with many more white farmers," she said. "The story helped me realize that race is not the issue."

 

 

[Chicopee John]

The NAACP has just as many racists associated with it as the tea party does.

 

I happened to listen to NPR on the way home today and the very much soft-peddled this story because it happened so long ago and she came around and said that she became friends and learned from her failure to give this guy 100% because of her color.

 

They also soft-peddled a story about the baton brandishing members of the New Black Panther Party standing in front of a Philly voting location. They did say the party is anti white, anti-jew, anti-gay but then went on to say that nobody believes they artually prevented or discouraged anybody from voting.

 

I now have a 2-hour round trip commute every day and need to find something else to listen to!

 

[Kosar_For_President]

But, the obamao admin and the NAACP have to engage and drag down the tea party movement.

 

I think it is both parties. Same thing that was done to Paul last election.

[heckofajobbrownie]

I guess Breitbart should have watched the whole video, huh?

 

It's from 24 years ago, and it's about overcoming racial prejudices. Breitbart now admits he never saw the whole thing, and selectively edited what was given to him.

 

But you guys all bought this one too. Imagine that.

[calfoxwc]

the NAACP won't release therest of the video. Breitbart, Beck and Hannity, ,,,Fox..

 

ran with the story ONLY AFTER THE OBAMAO ADMIN HARRASSED HER INTO RESIGNING.

 

Breitbart knew of the alleged existence of the vid, didn't have it, and didnt report on it.

 

That's a classy move there. I just told you it's from 1986, heck, you aren't telling us.

 

The NAACP has now seen their huge mistafe. They pushed her into resigning because they were frantic

 

it would show on Fox. Which only happened AFTER SHE WAS FORCED TO RESIGN.

 

eitherthe USDA or NAACP has to release theREST of the video, which would put her remarks in context.

 

...Said context, heck, you never seem to be honest enough to consider.

 

In their and the obamao admins desperate zeal to light a racism fire undermining

 

the reputation,growth and influence of the tea party movement, they ''''

 

now have wallowed into their own racist slur mire.

[heckofajobbrownie]

Yes, after all of this, Breitbart's "reporting" is referred to as "classy." Not shameful, not worthy of a massive apology, or more reason we shouldn't be listening to people like Andrew Breitbart. No, what "a classy move" that was, getting the entire story completely wrong.

 

.

[heckofajobbrownie]

Josh Green:

 

Awhile back, particularly during the Clinton administration, the media would flagellate itself every so often for rushing, lemming-like, to cover some story or other that was being touted on the Drudge Report, and then, after a period of reflection, deciding that it shouldn't be. There was usually a Howard Kurtz column to demarcate such an episode. But the recidivism rate was high. Invariably, the media would chase the next Drudge rumor, and the whole cycle would repeat.

 

That doesn't seem to happen anymore, at least not with Drudge. But it does happen, and more powerfully than ever, with Andrew Breitbart, who has inherited Barnum's instinct for what will cause a circus and the certainty that suckers are still being born every minute. One difference is that Drudge usually focused on sex scandals and tawdry personal humiliations, which, in the end, is hardly worth getting worked up about. Yes, yes, shame on reporters for taking the bait. But c'mon.

 

Breitbart focuses on race. Today's episode with Shirley Sherrod, who was forced to resign from the Agriculture Department on the basis of a doctored and intentionally misleading videotape (see below), is an especially ugly case in point, calculated to stir the very worst racial resentments. This time the political world--the NAACP, the Agriculture Secretary--moved as quickly as the media world to unthinking response, and I suspect it happened precisely because race was involved. I don't doubt that the administration's understandable desire to avoid racial issues played a big part in how this turned out.

 

But what's galling to me--gut-wrenching, really, like watching old news footage of blacks being beaten and clubbed at lunch counters--is that Breitbart obviously understood the powerful effect his tape would have, posted it anyway, and then assumed the role of ringmaster, expertly conducting the media circus, fanning the flames. It's hardly the first time. But the moral ugliness of what's just happened is glaring, and it's hard for me to see how the media can justify continuing to treat Breitbart as simply a roguish provocateur. He's something much darker.

 

[calfoxwc]

Why is it always "rushing" to cover a story ONLY if it paints a NEGATIVE light on the Obamao admni and the NAACP ?

 

But all the other times, it's okay with you, Heck?

 

This report was NEVER on Fox until AFTER she was ordered/harrassed on a 3.5 hour drive, the last time, was the WH

TELLING HER to pull over and call in her resignation -

 

they wanted her to resign BEFORE IT SHOWED UP on FOX.

 

Breitbart SAT on the story - the story was told in March.

 

But after the NAACP and WH went AFTER the tea partiers as racist....

 

and this woman was intimidated into resigning... Fox went with it,

and ONLY THEN

 

did Breitbart show up on Fox.

 

And, he is working on the release of the entire video.

 

the tuth is, the naacp/usda own the vid rights, dont want to give it up...so far...

 

but the damage has been done again.. the naacp and wh are lookinf for huge damage control,

 

and blaming Fox people is kgb style dishonest

 

But with you, Heck, there isn't any rush if it gets a vicious, dishonest point for your side.

 

We have too many people like you in journalism today.

 

ow. dammit. hurts too much to try to typr with two aqrm.

[calfoxwc]

btw heck where is the link you sell out libs always demanded we supply

 

who is josh green?

 

he sells you bagels in the morning?

[calfoxwc]

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uui...8494F0994FE7DD1

 

he big dirty naacp/wh trick blew up on the trickstsers

 

naacp wh got egg on their faces

[heckofajobbrownie]

Just for shits and giggles, Cal, what do you think Andrew Breitbart did wrong here?

[calfoxwc]

nothing, outside of putting a partial video out. But he didn't go to Fox

 

until AFTER she was fired.

 

And the naacp had the ENTIRE video the entire time, but still called for her firing.

 

And the USDA, defended the firing.

 

And Ms. Brown says it was ms. cook who told her to pull over

 

and call in her resignation because the white house was angry and wanted her ousted.

 

You want to rail vs Breitbart here?

 

You gotta be kidding.

 

Can't bring yourself to deal with the real issues here?

 

It has nothing to do with Breitbart or Fox, too bad for you eh?

 

Now you have to muster up some nads to really comprehensively look at the entire scandal.

 

That must hurt more than my shoulder... GGG

[heckofajobbrownie]

Thanks.

[calfoxwc]

breitbart said on fox that he was working days to get the resy of the vid so he

 

wouldnt jump at an out of context thing.

 

Beck took HER side.

 

now,

 

she has been apologized to...

 

one of several gigantic knee jerk reations, some all about race,

 

by this admin, and lib media.

[calfoxwc]

here;s a great write up on the whole mess;

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100721/ap_on_...ism_resignation

[Paxton]

I'm not surprised that the liberal fascists have used this to attack Breitbart. He's declared war on them, and they like to fight dirty.

[heckofajobbrownie]

Cal, can you explain your first post, where you alleged that the woman was racist, and that the Obama administration uses racism as a tool? You posted a Fox News story, pulled from video posted by Andrew Breitbart, designed to cause exactly the reaction you had - accusing the Obama administration of racism against whites.

 

Breitbart had the story wrong. He posted an edited clip, and smeared a woman unfairly. Then the administration and the NAACP fell for the same thing you did, sadly.

 

And you keep saying the unedited video is being hid. Which is funny, because I watched it last night, and everyone else could too because it's all over the internet.

 

So tell me again how Breitbart isn't at fault here?

 

[Chicopee John]

I guess Breitbart should have watched the whole video, huh?

 

It's from 24 years ago, and it's about overcoming racial prejudices. Breitbart now admits he never saw the whole thing, and selectively edited what was given to him.

 

But you guys all bought this one too. Imagine that.

 

Interesting segment on NPR today.

 

The interview was with a guy who wrote a book about Obama - something like, "The First Year" - and he said that the story got blown out of proportion due to the Obama Administrations overreaction to this story.

 

First of all, he said they should have known enough about Breitbart to do some due diligence before reacting so swiftly and erratically.

 

He said, that they wanted to get this story finished so the spotlight could be put on the signing of Financial Reform.

 

So............they made a mountain out of a mole hill - even though they also wanted to preempt potential 'fodder' on certain media outlets.

 

 

 

[heckofajobbrownie]

Absolutely. They should be ashamed of being bullied by an idiot. And I'm sure they are.

 

I'm taking issue with the idea that Breitbart is somehow blameless here, rather than what he is - the most guilty man in this whole sordid episode. This should be the end of him as a newsmaker. And if he were someone who got a story wrong about a conservative rather than a nameless black woman at the USDA, it would be. (See: Dan Rather.) But conservatives don't accept uncomfortable facts. They deflect them.

 

Here's how Breitbart introduced the video he posted:

 

"Ms. Sherrod admits that in her federally appointed position, overseeing over a billion dollars ... She discriminates against people due to their race."

 

Not a word of that is true. She was talking about another job she held 26 years ago, not the one with the government she currently holds/held. She doesn't personally oversee a billion dollars. And there's no evidence that she discriminates against race.

 

He even introduced the clip with the words "Context is everything." The headline was "The NAACP Awards Racism."

 

None of this happens without Andrew Breitbart. He should be over, but that would require some shame and self-awareness, neither of which he seems to have.

 

I've met the guy three times. Not a bright man.

[calfoxwc]

I don't care about breibart, he didn't do all this.

 

the naacp had this vid all along. Breitbart was sitting on the partial vid,

 

until the naacp sent after the tea partiers, which was completely

 

a fabrication.

 

the naacp wouldn't release the rest of the vid they HAD.

 

So, breitbart got ticked off after their lying attack on the tea partiers being racist,

 

and posted the vid.

 

HE didn't fire her, he didn't refuse to let the entire vid out.

 

He is NOT the story.

 

Heck, can't you grow those nads and comment on the story?

 

They fired her, threw her under the train, to make their point about conversatives,

 

and to cover their rears.

 

They weren't going to wait.

 

but now, it only went on fox AFTER SHE WAS FIRED.

 

AND, NCAA BLACKS WERE LAUGHING AT HER INITIAL ADMISSION

 

THAT SHE DIDN'T HELP THE WHITE FARMER AS MUCH AS SHE COULD HAVE.

 

BUT IN THE REST OF THE VID, SHE EXPLAINS SHE WAS WRONG, AND LEARNED IT ISN'T

 

ABOUT RACE.

 

BUT THE HATEFUL LAUGHING IN THE BACKGROUND?

 

PROOF THAT THE NAACP IS WAY, WAY TOO GUILTY OF WHAT THEY ALEGE THE TEA PARTIERS TO BE.

 

THAT WAS BREITBARTS POINT.

 

AND THE NAACP HAD TO RELEASE THE VID AND APOLOGIZE.

 

GROW SOME NADS, HECK, STOP CHERRY PICKIING DIVERSIONS FROM TOPICS SO YOU

 

CAN REDIRECT BLAME AND DULL NEGATIVISM ON WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU SOLD YOUR SOUL TO.

[Mr. T]

IMO: This whole thing was setup so the WH could play the race card and attack the those who follow the ideals of the Tea party.

 

 

 

Just a little role reversal, or a lot? Just look at all of the play this is getting in the national news.

[calfoxwc]

it backfired on them, like I said, egg on their faces, it blew up.

 

they are trying anything to get the upper hand again in the next election.

 

people SEE what's going on.

 

and it is pretty dishonest and ugly on the dems' side.

 

 

[heckofajobbrownie]

There will never be another two people like you guys. Holy moly.

[Alo]

 

The frickin' Dreyfus Affair? What an idiot.

[calfoxwc]

dropping charges vs the New Black Panthers...

 

federally funded abortion after the fake (I told you so) presidential order to get

 

the hc bill passed...

 

knee jerking about the white policeman in Boston, apologizing...

 

getting this lady fired... apologizing....

 

heralding the contributions of Muslims, but ignoring those of Jews and Christians etc....

 

promising most open admin, has the most corrupt, secretive and manipulative regime

 

politically bashing conservatives on the SC who voted against his wishes at a State of the Union address

 

with them in attendence.

 

Promising to bring us all together racially, only to use race as a division weapon again and again...

 

but you don't see a problem, Heck?

 

The vast majority of the American people do now.

 

You still won't admit I was right about the bark falling off the ugly Obamao regime tree?

 

Still quibbling over what the definition of "is" is?

 

knucklehead.

[Pumpkin Eater]

dropping charges vs the New Black Panthers...

 

federally funded abortion after the fake (I told you so) presidential order to get

 

the hc bill passed...

 

knee jerking about the white policeman in Boston, apologizing...

 

getting this lady fired... apologizing....

 

heralding the contributions of Muslims, but ignoring those of Jews and Christians etc....

 

promising most open admin, has the most corrupt, secretive and manipulative regime

 

politically bashing conservatives on the SC who voted against his wishes at a State of the Union address

 

with them in attendence.

 

Promising to bring us all together racially, only to use race as a division weapon again and again...

 

but you don't see a problem, Heck?

 

The vast majority of the American people do now.

 

You still won't admit I was right about the bark falling off the ugly Obamao regime tree?

 

Still quibbling over what the definition of "is" is?

 

knucklehead.

 

 

I must agree that you do make some valid points.