I find myself not only in agreement with Sarah Palin but angry at her treatment by a MSNBC host. Palin recently canceled a NBC interview with Matt Lauer over the failure of MSNBC to discipline host Martin Bashir for saying that someone should defecate in Palin’s mouth after she compared federal debt to slavery. While I once worked for MSNBC, I have been shocked by the effort of the network to be the Fox News of the left — with hosts often blindly supporting the President, seriously comparing Holder to Moses, and even defending the surveillance of journalists (which Bashir did) in defense of the Administration. For civil libertarians, it has been a blow to see MSNBC yield to a type of cult of personality around Obama while basic civil liberties are being denied by this Administration. However, Bashir was able to hit truly a new low and the lack of a serious response beyond an on-air apology sends the message that anything goes when the target is a conservative and critic of the President.
First let’s start off with Palin’s remark:
“Our free stuff today is being paid for by taking money from our children and borrowing from China. When that money comes due… it’ll be like slavery when that note is due. We are going to beholden to the foreign master.”
A bit over-the-top, yes. Unprecedented, no. Many people warn of the dependency on China as the holder of our debt. Moreover, the use of the noun slavery to refer to such dependency is hardly shocking. Standard dictionaries include the following definitions of slavery beyond actual human bondage: “The condition of being subject or addicted to a specified influence. 4. A condition of hard work and subjection.” In other words, Palin was using the term in a recognized and hardly unprecedented fashion. Moreover, the Chinese debt is a serious problem that has been discussed by both liberals and conservatives.
Bashir however seemed eager to attack Palin on the use of the word slavery as opposed to her obvious point. Indeed, it was Bashir who seemed to go off the deep end with a lecture on horror of slavery which no one (including Palin) had questioned.
He quotes Palin and then says:
“So here’s an example. One of the most comprehensive first-person accounts of slavery comes from the personal diary of a man called Thomas Thistlewood, who kept copious notes for 39 years. Thistlewood was the son of a tenant farmer, who arrived on the island of Jamaica in April 1750, and assumed the position of overseer at a major plantation.
What is most shocking about Thistlewood’s diary is not simply the fact that he assumes the right to own and possess other human beings, but is the sheer cruelty and brutality of his regime,” Bashir added. “In 1756, he records that a slave named Darby ‘catched eating kanes had him well flogged and pickled, then made Hector, another slave, s-h-i-t in his mouth.’
This became known as ‘Darby’s Dose,’ a punishment invented by Thistlewood that spoke only of inhumanity. And he mentions a similar incident in 1756, his time in relation to a man he refers to as Punch. ‘Flogged punch well, and then washed and rubbed salt pickle, lime juice and bird pepper, made Negro Joe piss in his eyes and mouth’ . . . She confirms if anyone truly qualified for a dose of discipline from Thomas Thistlewood, she would be the outstanding candidate.”
It was unhinged and unfair and disgraceful. However, some Palin critics immediately attacked Palin as insulting African-Americans by even using the word slavery. This was raised by Jake Tapper in a later interview:
TAPPER: You can understand why African Americans or others might be offended by it, though?
PALIN: I — I can if they choose to misinterpret what it is that I’m saying. And, again, you know, I’m sure if we open up the dictionary, we could prove that with semantics that are various, we can prove that there is a definition of slavery that absolutely fits the bill there, when I’m talking about a bankrupt country that will owe somebody something down the line if we don’t change things that is, we will be shackled. We will be enslaved to those who we owe.
Once again, I do not share the condemnation of Palin as somehow dismissing or lessening the crime of slavery in this country. Nor do I think she was lecturing African-Americans. I do not see how any reasonable reading of her comments can produce such interpretation. However, in today’s environment, everyone seems on a hair-trigger to condemn and unleash the type of disgusting retort of Bashir. There seems to be a view that opposing figures like Palin deserve no consideration or decency in the treatment of her comments.
Bashir later apologized:
“I wanted to take this opportunity to say sorry to Mrs. Palin, and to also offer an unreserved apology to her friends and family, her supporters, our viewers, and anyone who may have heard what I said. I deeply regret what I said and that I have learned a sober lesson in these last few days that the politics of vitriol and destruction is a miserable place to be and a miserable person to become.”
What was missing was any discipline from MSNBC.
Perhaps this outrageous comment might produce some needed soul-searching at MSNBC over its decision to become an echo-chamber for the White House. However, there is no evidence of it in the silence from MSNBC.
Various people came forward to defend Bashir and question whether even an apology was needed:
Basically, as Jason Easley pointed out at the time, Palin was essentially telling African-Americans that they don’t really know what slavery is, and it takes someone like Palin to explain it to them. If you think that’s offensive, well congratulations, you are a normal functioning human being. It is with that backdrop that Bashir made the following comments on his show on Friday
I do not see it that way and I am no fan of Palin. I fail to see how her original or later comments sought to tell “African-Americans that they don’t really know what slavery is.” That is equally unfair to Palin. I fail to see why our current political divisions justify taking every comment of an opposing figure to the worst possible meaning, particularly when the meaning seem quite evident.
Do you think an apology is enough in this circumstance when a host says that someone should defecate in the mouth of a conservative leader?
The surprising thing is that anybody was watching MSNBC to hear Bashir’s comment. Maybe MSNBC suspended Bashir but nobody ever watches his show to notice. Very possibly, Bashir is, in fact, under suspension, but his ratings have not budged.
Gene H:
Probably about 85%.
I agree to a point. He comes up with some interesting stuff though. I know he is wrong on some things from reading what people post here.
Balance, read you and Mike S and read Cato and Heritage.
Gotta help the folks but also have to have a good economy. Even Jack Kennedy was on board for that, in fact he sounded like Reagan or I should say Reagan sounded like Kennedy. You might even be able to make a case that Reagan was Kennedy’s 2nd term except for the Evangelical Christians.
Bron,
It doesn’t take much research in to Limbaugh to find out he’s a huckster who thinks his audience are rubes. He’d say his mother could fart fireworks to the tune of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” if he could make a buck on it. The man has only one principle: greed.
He’s 100% sideshow barker.
pdm:
and Moveon.org, Soros, etc are above reproach?
You are kidding, right?
RTC:
“Behind the scenes, Limbaugh has no respect for folks like you.”
And you know that how? Did Rushie hurt your little feelings?
No comparison to George Tiller, baby killer.
If it weren’t for Sarah Palin, we would probably hailing President McCain today.
Sorry, Blouise, she’s stupid. Period. It’s the only thing Peggy Noonan and I agree on.
——————————————-
DavidM,
You have written many inane things on this blog, but your admiration for Limbaugh reveals utter cupidity on your part. Behind the scenes, Limbaugh has no respect for folks like you.
That should be “Breitbart Award”……if you can stomach it.
There you go, pdm.
Help.
Two comments in cyberspace. Please just release the longer one. It offers much evidence that David’s SNAP “report” is nothing but crap.
Thanks.
David’s “report” is a bunch of crap.
I checked the source, Watchdog.org. It is a right wing organization and a project of the Franklin Center on Government and Public Integrity. The Franklin Center does not disclose its donors, but Charles and David Koch are big contributors. They have connections to Heritage and Sam Adams organization. They have something called the Breitbart Ward. Winners include Michelle Malkin. They have sponsored CPAC conventions. They also have connections to the Daily Caller.
Google Watchdog.org and Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity.
David, you are either a fraud or a fool. Frankly, I think you are both.
David’s source, Watchdog.org, is a right leaning organization. It’s funding comes from David and Charles Koch.
‘Nuff said…except that I continue to harp…..sources are important.
So David, are you saying that SNAP recipients transporting their disabled parent or child should not be allowed to have a vehicle worth more than $8,500? Some vans that are needed to accommodate a wheelchair do cost far more than $8,500. Certain other resources may be exempt for good reason David. I would rather our taxes were “wasted” on feeding people than paying for the drug rehab of Congressmen who want to test SNAP recipients for drug use.
Assets-States Vehicle Policy Chart, SNAP
I thought I better add this.
In Florida, a SNAP recipient can have one car worth $8,500.
Eligibility, sorry.
Eligability for Food and Nutrition Service, USDA
I hope you are reading the exceptions and exclusions, Annie. Your previous comments followed by these links suggest you are not.
“…certain resources are NOT counted…”
“If a vehicle is needed to transport a physically disabled household member, its value is not counted.”
“Excludes vehicles following federal SNAP exemptions.”
DavidM,
Bush the younger has two Ivy League degrees… What does that tell you about some folks education….. Oh yeah…. Of course we could use a new library…..
Sorry. Wrong thread. I need a cup of coffee.
DavidM: You know the state checks your bank accounts, if you’re receiving public assistance, right? The SSA does the same thing for people receiving SSI. Perhaps it was a bigger problem before electronic everything, but it would be very difficult, now.
I still call BS. You made this person up. None of it rings true.
Juliet N wrote: “You know the state checks your bank accounts, if you’re receiving public assistance, right? The SSA does the same thing for people receiving SSI. Perhaps it was a bigger problem before electronic everything, but it would be very difficult, now.”
Now I am beginning to doubt your knowledge of the procedures and laws for getting assistance. To qualify for SNAP, if a person receives SSI, TANF, or a pension, they are exempt from the resource limitation of $2,000 and also exempt from income tests. Even Obamacare did not have any kind of income verification until it was put into law in order to appease Republicans and end the recent government shutdown.
Did you know that the car’s value is exempt from disclosure when applying for SNAP?
Did you know that to apply for Food Stamps here in Florida, you don’t even have to provide your Social Security Number? Following is the notice at the bottom of the income verification form:
“Pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 435.910, the Department is requesting you provide the social security number (SSN), but you are not required to provide us the SSN under the law. However, if you give us the SSN we can determine eligibility for assistance or services faster and more accurately. Social security numbers are used by the Department for identity verification, income and eligibility verification and other purposes related to administration of our programs.”
Income verification, when it does happen, happens through audits that take time. You and some others here might find that satisfactory, that some people are being caught and removed from the dole, but I think about those who are not caught or not able to be convicted of fraud. Here in Florida, the fraud conviction rate for SNAP is about 35%, which is higher than the national conviction rate of 27%.
Consider this report:
“The Florida SNAP audit indicates the fraud rate includes overpayments of benefits due to misinterpretation of information of applicants. The report also states that more than 70 percent of the fraud detected in their sample was related to non-reporting or under-reporting of income. … The strike force report says fraud is an ongoing and pervasive problem within the SNAP program, both nationwide and within Florida. It said that out of nearly 800,000 nationwide fraud investigations conducted in 2010, 51,000 were carried out in Florida. About 18,000 of those resulted in termination, denial of benefits or conviction of fraud. That equates to a 35 percent conviction rate in the Sunshine State compared to 27 percent national average.”
“The USDA Office of Inspector General found in a 2010 audit that 2,689 of Florida’s beneficiaries were either dead, didn’t have a valid Social Security number, were receiving duplicate benefits in several states, or were listed on the disqualified recipient list.”
http://watchdog.org/100624/florida-task-force-cites-higher-food-stamp-fraud-rate-than-usda/
So they investigated 800,000 cases of fraud in the SNAP program, convicted 216,000 cases of fraud, but how many cases of fraud were never even investigated? Probably a lot. It is alarming to me how many cases received overpayments as a result of mistakes in the information provided by applicants.
I am not arguing that fraud is a reason to shut down the program. I am only trying to point out that contrary to your viewpoint, cases of fraud do happen, and in order to have a responsible assistance program, we have to acknowledge the fraud and take steps to minimize it.
If you were here, I would introduce you to this person you think I made up and let you look at her Mercedes-Benz. Your disbelief is truly amazing. Enjoy your coffee.
“If you were here, I would introduce you to this person you think I made up and let you look at her Mercedes-Benz. Your disbelief is truly amazing. Enjoy your coffee.”
DavidM,
I’m sure you don’t get it but your whole comment discredited your original statement.
I know the procedure, because when I first became ill, our family received food stamps for a short time. You are wrong on a number of issues.
You don’t ever know what you’re talking about, and you lie. It’s annoying.
Gene H wrote: “I’m really amused that anyone would consider what Michael Savage does as thinking.”
But Gene… he earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Surely that degree impresses you. 🙂