The loss of a truth teller

 

The reason for this blog is the following article from MSNBC:

 

            Martin Bashir resigns from MSNBC after Sarah Palin slam

 

Dec. 4, 2013, 2:46 PM EST

By L.A. Ross
TheWrapMSNBC host Martin Bashir resigned from the network Wednesday, two weeks after making the graphic suggestion that someone defecate in former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's mouth.
MSNBC president Phil Griffin released the following statement:

Martin Bashir resigned today, effective immediately. I understand his decision and I thank him for three great years with MSNBC. Martin is a good man and respected colleague -- we wish him only the best.

Here is Bashir's statement, via Mediaite:

After making an on-air apology, I asked for permission to take some additional time out around the Thanksgiving holiday.
Upon further reflection, and after meeting with the President of MSNBC, I have tendered my resignation. It is my sincere hope that all of my colleagues, at this special network, will be allowed to focus on the issues that matter without the distraction of myself or my ill-judged comments.
I deeply regret what was said, will endeavor to work hard at making constructive contributions in the future and will always have a deep appreciation for our viewers -- who are the smartest, most compassionate and discerning of all television audiences. I would also wish to express deepest gratitude to my immediate colleagues, and our contributors, all of whom have given so much of themselves to our broadcast.'

 Here is what Bashir actually said (or at least the part to which the usually foul and insulting Tea baggers, et al, took issue:

MARTIN BASHIR: 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.

In 1756, he records that "A slave named Darby catched eating canes; 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 the slave owners savagery and inhumanity.

And he mentions a similar incident again in 1756, this 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." I could go on, but you get the point.

When Mrs. Palin invoked slavery, she doesn’t just prove her rank ignorance. She confirms that if anyone truly qualified for a dose of discipline from Thomas Thistlewood, then she would be the outstanding candidate.

 

 

This is unfortunate, in that no one should feel compelled to leave their job for telling the truth about Sarah Palin. Although I lament the fact that Martin Bashir lost it to the point of using profanity on the air, he did so in utter frustration at Palin's analogizing China's investing in US T bills with slavery. He also called her a "world class idiot" and I will defend the rectitude of that opinion to the death! Palin-Limbaugh-Bachmann-Beck-Hannity and their idiot acolytes, use a strategem, well described previously elsewhere by my brother, of making inflammatory statements, which they know to be false, because they also know that their target audience, apparently unable to read or think critically, will believe them.

Palin's claim, like Jeb Bush's claim re: moving the US Vatican embassy, is calculated to smear and demean political opposition, and has no basis in fact. It is as goofey as her "Obama death panel" statements during the 2008 ca...mpaign. Her irrelevance increases daily, and I suppose we should not be surprised that her desparate distortion of fact follows that trend in reverse. The troubling aspect of all this is that a portion of persons who get their news (if they get it at all) get it from one source and refuse to even countenance the possibility that they are being blatantly and intentionally lied to or that there might be a more credible opposing point of view.

When one looks at even a self identified conservative fact checker like Politifact, it becomes obvious that the claims rated as egrigious lies are of essentially two types. The first is a statement of intent and/or program goal which in the final analysis wasn't followed through, or was done in a manner which fell far short of expectations. The vast majority of Pants on Fire ratings come from the far right, but unlike the Left, most of whose issues are of omission or inadequate performance, they are of a second type. That is, they are untruths told by persons who knew when they said them that they were lying. The first page of "Pants on Fire" ratings on the Politifact site identifies the 20 most recent such ratings. 18 of those 20 are from far right sources and about 10 of them are of the "They knew they were lying when they said it" category. Sarah Palin and her prevaricating posse are unworthy to carry Martin Bashir's laundry to the cleaners. What a shame!