I say with small modesty that I am the one who taught her what a “guilt by association” fallacy is (having caught her in quite a few different kinds of fallacies, strawmen, guilt by association, ad hominem and so on), so that is what raised my suspicion. Certain terms are used frequently (smear, for example). Another way to tell is an absence of factual evidence for anything and an appeal to scorn — she will always present strong opinions, in clear and not shabby prose, and when pressed, she may provide a link to some screed on FAIR, CIS, or NumbersUSA. Also there is the masculine nickname (“Raphie” and “Bearded”, whereas she is a woman. She has claimed to be independent or a moderate, but will always defend the Tea Party. Now she claims to be a Democrat.

Here is a quote from another blog, posted today:

“FAIR, NumbersUSA, and CIS are all very good and valid organizations. They demonize them with the guilt by association tag. If you ever go to the SPLC site and read their blogs it is mind blowing. It is basically an anti-white blog and like minds gather there to condone their views and express their shallow views. I will give you one guess who is a regular poster there. FYI, I have been going to that site for a few years, I like to check out what the lunatic fringe left thinks now and then.”

Now, let us compare with “Ralphie’s” comment above (elipses are mine for brevity):

“They have labeled the Federation for Immigration Reform a hate group and smeared the Center for Immigration Studies and Numbersusa because of old, past association to one person…So, if the SPLC is going to rely on old, distant associations to attack mainstream immigration reduction groups, then they should not be surprised or shocked when the Right does the same with Van Jones, Acorn, or Shirley Sherrod. And, by the way, many people now consider the SPLC to be a leading hate group because of the way they smear anyone who doesn’t agree with their left wing agenda “”

My hypothesis is now presented. I am open to challenge, but I am now comfortable making this association and open the topic for further inquiry.

Good day.

So, if the SPLC is going to rely on old, distant associations to attack mainstream immigration reduction groups, then they should not be surprised or shocked when the Right does the same with Van Jones, Acorn, or Shirley Sherrod. And, by the way, many people now consider the SPLC to be a leading hate group because of the way they smear anyone who doesn’t agree with their left wing agenda

By the way, I’m a Democrat and am against mass immigration for environmental and economic reasons, as are many people I know. Does that make me a “white supremicist”?

Pretty strong editorial coming from a guy who works for an organization (SPLC) that has nothing better to do then label just about anyone and any organization opposed to mass immigration as a hate group.

While I think the whole Sherrod incident was unfortunate, it is highly hypocritical of Potok to complain about people being unfearly smeared, when his organization has done so itself.

If you really want this sort of behavior and tactics to stop, then be a leader and quit smearing people and organizations by using very loose “guilt by association” tactics to impugn people and organizations that have very real concerns about mass immigration.

South Africa is doing a better job on race than we are because they have admitted their racism and have apologized for it. You have to admit a sin before you can forgive yourself. I believe that the good people of these United States will still defeat you racist bastards out there who lurk in the shadows and divide us like Fox News and their prejudiced following. There is good evidence that we will prevail. The election of President Obama is a good example of us coming to grips with and throwing off part of the yoke of racism that still permeates this country. I have faith that mine and your God will survive and receive justice and liberty for all in this imperfect democracy of ours.

God Bless our beloved Country…CR

“To set the stage, it is necessary to know the true timeline. On the morning of Monday July 19, Andrew Breitbart posted a video clip of Ms Sherrod. Long story short, it did not provide the complete context of her remarks. That afternoon, Ms Sherrod was called repeatedly by the administration and told she was to resign. At this point, this story had not been reported on FNC, CNN, or MSNBC. There was a [reason]* why FNC had not been covering the matter:”

* http://latimesblogs.latimes.co.....ework.html
—
‘Michael Clemente, senior vice president of news editorial, said the network’s news programs reported the story with caution. “When I heard about this Monday morning and saw it on Breitbart’s website, I said, ‘OK, could be a story, let’s check it out,’ ” Clemente said. “We did the normal fact-finding we would do on any story.” At an afternoon editorial meeting Monday, Clemente urged the staff to first get the facts and obtain comment from Sherrod before going on air, according to internal notes from the meeting that were provided to The Times. “Let’s make sure we do this right,” he said.’
—
“Sherrod resigned, and the news broke on Monday evening. The first mention of the matter on FNC was from Bill O’Reilly. His show was taped about two hours earlier; he played the edited clip, called on her to resign. But by the time it aired, Ms Sherrod had already resigned, and an on-screen graphic noted same. (O’Reilly would later admit his mistake and [apologize]*.) That same night CNN also [played]** the [clip]*** in reporting on the resignation, as did Hannity (who discussed it with Newt Gingrich and a bi-partisan panel). It was also mentioned briefly by Dana Perino (subbing for Greta). By Tuesday morning, the NAACP had gone on record approving of the firing. Their statement has been [removed]^ from the NAACP website, but it [said in part]^^:”

* http://video.foxnews.com/v/vid.....#038;h=374
** http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRA.....cd.01.html
*** http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRA.....cd.02.html
^ http://www.naacp.org/press/ent.....y-sherrod/
^^ http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-50.....ontentBody
—
‘Racism is about the abuse of power. Sherrod had it in her position at USDA. According to her remarks, she mistreated a white farmer in need of assistance because of his race.’
—
“Both [MSNBC]* and Fox & Friends discussed these developments. As the LA Times [noted]**:”

* http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/#38359302
** http://latimesblogs.latimes.co.....ework.html
—
‘The first reported piece on Fox News, by [correspondent James Rosen]*, aired on Tuesday morning, and included a second video clip that added context to Sherrod’s comments.’

* http://mediamatters.org/embed/.....sensherrod
—
“Along with the LA Times, reports from [Mediaite]*, the [Washington]** [Post]^, and [others]^^ make one thing clear: nothing that aired on FNC could possibly have caused Ms Sherrod’s firing, because FNC aired nothing until after she was already gone. That’s not a matter of opinion; it’s fact. So now the fun begins, as the haters kick into high gear.”

* http://www.mediaite.com/online.....to-resign/
** http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....06708.html
^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....06708.html
^^ http://weblogs.baltimoresun.co.....fox_n.html
***
J$P: Fox Haters Week in Review!
http://johnnydollar.us/files/100725fhwir.php

http://farm1.static.flickr.com.....cbac_m.jpg

The Nazis used scare tactics, untrue media reports and vicious racism to boost their rise to power.

The Right’s fight today isn’t against President Obama’s policies, it is against certain parts of our population.

Beware!

I tell people all the time, no matter how much the rich complain that they have to pay so much in taxes…they receive a lot more free. People are always giving them stuff that we have to buy – example, ball players receive free shoes, movie stars get to wear designer clothes and jewelry – sometimes it is loaned, famous people sometimes get free hotel rooms just to make an appearance. Not only do they get a lot of free stuff, they have deductions to offset taxes, they set up tax-free foundations……oh, didn’t Eric Prince who owned Blackwater move to U.A.E? In case you guys didn’t know it, there are U.S. teachers moving to U.A.E., and rent for an apartment costs about 65k a year – yes, rent!

Someone made a comment about boycotting the advertisers….better to not watch the station, advertisers look for what’s popular based on ratings. I stopped watching C-Span’s Washington Journal, I don’t look at Fox, and I stopped watching CNN because I believe they are following in Fox’s footsteps, I watch only Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. As far as I’m concerned the shows are only as good as the shows news editors/writers, so Rachel and Keith are excellent shows, they’re my favorites.

The comment about taking our country back – this country has been sold, yes, we have a 1 trillion dollar deficit – ha, the war spending just reached 1 trillion. As far as the job market – look up the Kyoto Protocol. When Obama said he wanted to review NAFTA – who was it that started yelling? Wasn’t it Bush Jr. that excelerated CAFTA? So, to boycott products is not the answer because half of the goods sold in this country is not made in this country – example, the syrup for Coca-Cola is made in Ireland, look at the products you buy in the store and you will sometimes see ‘this is a product of China, Philippines….’ or look at the labels on your fruit, it will be from Brazil, Ecuador…..

I believe you are right to be harsh on all-things Fox. I also believe you are making unnecessary excuses for the White House, Administration, and the NAACP, for their blunders and lack of due diligence in the Sherrod matter. Continue to challenge and expose the Right, but be careful about making excuses for the others. When you do so, it goes to your credibility.