Tag Archives: Shirley Sherrod

Et tu, Issa?

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Representative Steve King of Iowa yesterday introduced a bill in the House aimed at ending the Pigford settlements.

If you recall, Pigford has been called “the biggest ripoff this country has ever known” by a black farmer whistleblower. The government has been paying billions in reparations to black farmers who were once discriminated against. Fine. However, the system has been abused, going from a few thousand farmers to tens of thousands who never got closer to a farm than the potted plant in their apartment.

According to the law, it was not necessary to offer any proof that you ever had a farm or were a farmer. Money was freely doled out.

One of the most blatant abusers has been Shirley Sherrod, formerly of the Agriculture Department. She and her husband received $13 million for their decade long defunct communal farm. Ms. Sherrod came to attention when Andrew Breitbart had a clip of her admitting that she did not treat white farmers as well as blacks.

Here is Michele Bachmann giving a brief rundown of Pigford.

Anyhow, King’s bill failed. Every Democrat voted against it. Unfortunately, they were joined by 78 Republicans. Blackburn, Fincher and Nunelee voted with King.

However, Allen West of Florida and Darrell Issa of California voted against it, too.

This is particularly alarming not just because they are Republicans, but because Issa is the chairman of the House Government Affairs and Oversight Committee. He is the one to start an investigation into this fraud. He can be reached at 202-225-3906 if you want to expression your disappointment at his vote.

Shirley, You Jest

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If you read the newspaper’s big headline in the Local News section this morning, you would think that Shirley Sherrod is a saint.

The former Agriculture Department official was in church giving her sob story account of how bad old Andrew Breitbart used her own words on  videotape against her. She  highlighted her career fighting against racism and poverty, fighting for the civil rights of the poor and blacks, dodging hate mail and unfairness; relying on the Lord to get her through.

Made you want to go put up a statue of her somewhere or rename a street.

However, the truth is somewhat different.

Brietbart learned a different account  from Rep. Steve King (R-Ia). “Shirley Sherrod and her husband, Charles, along with their decades long defunct communal farm, New Communities Inc., were set to receive over a whopping $13 million   in the Pigford settlement, the largest amount of money allocated in the history of the Pigford settlement.”

If you don’t know about the Pigford settlement, basically it involves reparations to black farmers that has been abused to the tune of taxpayer millions, Breitbart has it all at biggovernment.com. Look up Pigford Shakedown or Google it.

As for the blogger being responsible for Sherrod’s firing by the Obama administration, former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown commented in the San Francisco Chronicle.

“As an old pro, though, I know that you don’t fire someone without at least hearing their side of the story unless you want them gone in the first place. This woman has been a thorn in the side of the Agriculture Department for years. She was part of a class action lawsuit against the Department on behalf of black farmers in the South. For years, she has been operating a community activist organization not unlike ACORN. I think there were those in the Agriculture department who objected to her being hired in the first place.”

Sherrod seems have gone to the Pigford trough repeatedly.