memeorandum: USDA Appointee Forced To Resign After Edited Speech Released By Breitbart (VIDEO) (Rachel Slajda/TPMMuckraker)

7:35 PM ET, July 20, 2010

Top Items:

Farmer's wife says fired USDA official helped save their land — The wife of the white farmer allegedly discriminated against by the USDA's rural development director for Georgia said Shirley Sherrod “kept us out of bankruptcy.” — Eloise Spooner, 82, awoke Tuesday to discover that Sherrod …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Anchoress, New York Magazine, Outside the Beltway, Taylor Marsh, The Plum Line, RedState, Ben Smith's Blog, Mediaite, Weekly Standard and The Corner on National …

NAACP:

NAACP STATEMENT ON THE RESIGNATION OF SHIRLEY SHERROD — (BALTIMORE, MD) - NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous issued the following statement today after a careful investigation into the presentation of former USDA Official Shirley Sherrod. — “The NAACP has a zero tolerance policy …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Balloon Juice and HotAirPundit

Rachel Slajda / TPMMuckraker:

Breitbart On Sherrod's NAACP Speech: ‘I Did Not Edit This Thing’ — The crux of the Shirley Sherrod controversy is what she said outside of the two-minute video clip posted by Big Government — whether she was, as she claims, telling a story about how she overcame racial prejudice …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Little Green Footballs, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

Our Summer Race War Heats Up — Hoo boy. Conservatives apparently aren't going to back down from ever more overt appeals to racial resentment this summer. BigGovernment.com “broke” a story yesterday about a speech given a few months ago by Shirley Sherrod, USDA Georgia Director of Rural Development, at an NAACP Freedom Fund dinner.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, The Corner on National …, NewsBusters.org, Wizbang, The Daily Caller and Riehl World View

Digby / Hullabaloo:

The White House's Weak Back Hand — Update below: — Weak Back Hand — by digby — When our new overlord Andrew Breitbart says jump, the White House says, “how high?” Kevin Drum: … Naturally, the administration panicked like a bunch of frightened little children:

Discussion: Federal Eye, TalkLeft, The Plum Line, Fact-esque, Talking Points Memo and The Agonist

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Official: No White House pressure on Sherrod — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this afternoon took responsibility for firing an official, Shirley Sherrod, whose appearance on video recalling her behavior toward a white farmer drew charges of racism, and whose immediate firing drew suggestions …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Big Government, PostPartisan, The Plum Line, TPMMuckraker and Daily Kos

CNN:

USDA worker quits over white farmer remark — Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) — The NAACP has retracted its original statement condemning comments made by a former Agriculture Department official who resigned after a video clip surfaced of her discussing a white farmer.

Discussion: The Politico, Big Government, Mediaite, Jack & Jill Politics, Rumproast, Politics Daily, This Just In, Obama Foodorama, PostPartisan and newsfeed.time.com

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:

Not Looking Good For Breitbart — The 82-year-old wife of the white Georgia farmer who was supposedly discriminated against some quarter century ago by the black USDA official forced to resign this week — if the video released by Andrew Breitbart's Big Government and re-run by Fox is to be believed …

Discussion: TPMMuckraker and No More Mister Nice Blog

Datechguy / DaTechguy's Blog:

One thing about the NAACP video of Shirley Sherrod — ...that nobody is mentioning. — Look at the crowd reaction when she says this. Is there shock? Is there disgust? Is there anger? Nope, they are with her all the way. — That says more about the NAACP than anything Sherrod did.

Discussion: The Other McCain

Tom Blumer / Washington Examiner:

Shirley Sherrod's Disappearing Act: Not So Fast — My oh my, that happened quickly. Perhaps too quickly. — Until yesterday, Shirley Sherrod was Georgia Director of Rural Development for the USDA. Earlier in the day at Big Government, Andrew Breitbart put up a video that exposed …

Discussion: Don Surber, NewsBusters.org, RedState, Big Government, Right Wing News, Weasel Zippers and protein wisdom

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

Breitbart's Skilled Editing — The quotes that former USDA worker Shirley Sherrod gave on the edited tapes disseminated by Andrew Breitbart are indeed indefensible, but is it not fair to provide some kind of context? To wit: … And: … This reminds me of the Octavia Nasr case.

Discussion: msnbc.com and Mediaite

Marcus K. Garner / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Resigned USDA official says racial story misconstrued

Discussion: Jay Bookman, Mediaite, TPMMuckraker, Left Coast Rebel, Washington Monthly, Sweetness & Light, Talking Points Memo, Little Green Footballs, The Right Scoop, THEROOT.COM, Simply Left BehindThe …, theblogprof and NewsBusters.org

Rachel Slajda / TPMMuckraker:
USDA Appointee Forced To Resign After Edited Speech Released By Breitbart (VIDEO)

Discussion: Think Progress, Salon, The Nation, Sister Toldjah, Hot Air, Political Punch, Media Matters for America and Talking Points Memo

Alex Seitz-Wald / Think Progress:
White House Uses Misleading Breitbart Video As Basis To Hastily …

Discussion: Shakesville, CNN and Associated Press

Rachel Slajda / TPMMuckraker:
Agriculture Secretary Stands By Asking For Sherrod's Resignation

Discussion: Salon and Talking Points Memo

Jonathan Strong / The Daily Caller:

It was the moment of greatest peril for then-Sen. Barack Obama's political career. In the heat of the presidential campaign, videos surfaced of Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, angrily denouncing whites, the U.S. government and America itself. Obama had once bragged of his closeness to Wright.

Discussion: Big Government, The Politico, NewsBusters.org, Media Research Center, NewsReal Blog, Big Journalism, Salon, Ruby Slippers, Ace of Spades HQ, Hot Air, Don Surber, Another Black Conservative, GayPatriot, EconLog, Sister Toldjah, Weekly Standard, Fausta's Blog, Pajamas Media, Confederate Yankee, Gawker, Right Wing News, Wizbang, Wonkette, Moonbattery, Questions and Observations, Conservatives4Palin.com, Nice Deb, Mediaite, The Sundries Shack, Hit & Run, Jules Crittenden, Real Clear Politics, Taylor Marsh, Sweetness & Light, Left Coast Rebel, The Moderate Voice, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Dean's World, Moe Lane, Althouse, Stop The ACLU, The Corner on National …, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, theblogprof, Breitbart.tv, Instapundit, Politics Daily, sara in italy, sisu, Gateway Pundit, Say Anything and The Future of Capitalism

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

The Corruption Of Journo-list — The latest revelations from Journo-list are deeply depressing to me. What's depressing is the way in which liberal journalists are not responding to events in order to find out the truth, but playing strategic games to cover or not cover events and controversies in order to win a media/political war.

Discussion: The New Republic, The Daily Caller, Conservatives4Palin.com and Pajamas Media

Ben Domenech / The New Ledger:
Lessons From Journolist: Why Ross Douthat is Useful

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Big Journalism, Stop The ACLU, Liberty Pundits Blog, Riehl World View and Mother Jones

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

Lindsey Graham's vote on Elena Kagan ensures primary challenge — South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R) announcement that he will vote in favor of Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court is likely to further incite conservatives already unhappy with him and, according to close observers …

Discussion: The Caucus, New York Times, Hot Air, Washington Post, The Hill, msnbc.com, Weasel Zippers, The Politico, PostPartisan, Washington Monthly, The Nation, Wonkette, Power Line, The BLT, Weekly Standard and RealClearPolitics Video Log

Jeff Sessions / USA Today:

Opposing view on the Supreme Court: A big-government vision — After carefully reviewing Elena Kagan's record and testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, I must oppose her nomination. — OUR VIEW: Kagan deserves bipartisan backing, but won't get it

Discussion: National Review, The Washington Independent, msnbc.com, The Hill, Balkinization, Minnesota Independent, Hotline On Call, The Hill, Gateway Pundit, Don Surber and The Page

Frank J. Gaffney Jr / Washington Times:
GAFFNEY: Kagan's Shariah problem

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Think Progress and Wonk Room

New York Times:
The Republicans and the Constitution

Discussion: Hillbilly Report, aca litigation blog, ACS Blog and Althouse

The Politico:

GOP leery of Tea Party Caucus — With the official formation of a congressional Tea Party Caucus, Rep. Michele Bachmann has thrust an existential question before House Republican leaders: Are you in or are you out? — Indiana's Mike Pence, chairman of the Republican Conference, was adamant.

Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:
GOP campaign chief joins Tea Party caucus

Discussion: CNN and TPMDC

Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Cantor won't join House Tea Party Caucus

Discussion: Hot Air

Ezra Klein:

Unemployment benefits to pass, but all alone — Democrats are set to pass an extension of unemployment benefits today. The presence of Carte Goodwin, Sen. Robert Byrd's temporary replacement, gives them the 60 votes necessary to break the Republicans' — and Ben Nelson's — filibuster of the bill.

Discussion: The Washington Independent, The Rachel Maddow Show, Free exchange and Shakesville

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Breaking Impasse, Senate Extends Jobless Benefits

Discussion: Truthdig

Wall Street Journal:
Stimulating Unemployment — If you can't create any jobs, pay people not to work.

Discussion: Liberty Pundits Blog, Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Reid holds slight lead — Given the gift of an opponent who's even more unpopular than him, Harry Reid leads Sharron Angle 48-46 in the Nevada Senate race. When PPP last looked at the state in January Reid trailed Sue Lowden by ten points. — Reid continues to have upside down approval numbers …

Discussion: The Reid Report, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Ballot Box and Mother Jones

CNN:
New Angle ad says society ‘fearful’

Discussion: The Politico

Andy Barr / The Politico:
Angle ready to ‘go to war’

Discussion: The Swamp and Daily Kos

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:

The Scariest Unemployment Graph I've Seen Yet — The median duration of unemployment is higher today than any time in the last 50 years. That's an understatement. It is more than twice as high today than any time in the last 50 years. — OK, you're saying, but what does this mean?

John Aravosis / AMERICAblog News:

BP photoshops fake photo of crisis command center, posts on main BP site — UPDATE: Show BP you mean business, donate to AMERICAblog. If you like our hard-hitting activist journalism, then please donate and help us continue our work. Thanks so much. — (H/t to AK for spotting this.)

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Grist, Mediaite, Breaking News …, Daily Kos and Gawker

Steven Mufson / Washington Post:
Altered BP photo comes into question

Discussion: The Confluence and AMERICAblog News

Dan Mangan / New York Post:

Chilling toll of Times Sq. ‘bomb’ — Thankfully, it didn't go off as planned. — A secret FBI test of a correctly made version of the Times Square bomb revealed that it “would have killed thousands of people” if it had been made to explode as terrorists had intended, law-enforcement sources told The Post yesterday.

Discussion: Gothamist, Weasel Zippers and New York Magazine

Fox News:
Times Square Bomb Could Have ‘Killed Thousands,’ FBI Test Shows

Discussion: Weekly Standard and World Threats

Ben Geman / The Hill:

House Dems whack Cheney over oil spill — Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee traded partisan blows Tuesday over whether the Obama administration or the former Bush administration deserves more blame for the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill.