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Obama's bungling of Shirley Sherrod issue overshadows accomplishments

Monsivais/APPresident Obama delivers remarks on the economy (above). His worst approval rating yet, combined with the PR gaffe over Shirley Sherrod could overshadow his legislative achievements.
WASHINGTON - The day after skidding to his worst approval rating, President Obama and his team came across as rattled and defensive - traits Americans don't like in their leaders.
The administration's stumble-bungling in the Shirley Sherrod melodrama is an epic case of lousy damage control - and that's putting it mildly.
By sacking Sherrod on the strength of a doctored video posted by a blogger on the Obama-bashing right, the White House seemed afraid of offending conservative media critics - and white voters who helped elect an African-American President.
"They're so panicky about looking anti-white that they overreact and do things so they can't be accused of being pro-black," a prominent Democratic official complained to the Daily News. "It was very sloppy execution."
By contrast, it's difficult to imagine Bill or Hillary Clinton, who as First Lady hammered the "vast right-wing conspiracy," so easily caving to the conservative attack machine that skewed the "evidence" against Sherrod.
Compounding the misery, the Sherrod mess stepped all over the President's marquee achievement of the week - the landmark financial regulation reform bill.
His carefully orchestrated bill-signing ceremony was swallowed whole by the media's fixation with Sherrod.
The flap capped the second straight off-message week for Obama. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was incensed when press secretary Robert Gibbs said Democrats might lose the House in November.
The White House was forced to sue for peace. Obama pledged to raise more money for the Democratic campaign committee, but the incident underscored lingering tensions between the White House and congressional allies.
The irony is that while Obama's job rating dropped to 44% in a Quinnipiac poll, his legislative accomplishments continue to pile up.
The anemic numbers fuel reservations about his leadership style and difficulty communicating his message more crisply.
That doesn't mean he's doomed, much less a goner for reelection a political lifetime away in 2012. Defenders say it's simply the summer doldrums, which will dissipate as the economy continues a slow recovery.
Still, with only months until the midterm elections, more bad news is certain to raise jitters among party leaders.
"Ronald Reagan did a lot of bad things, but people trusted him and thought he was strong," a Democratic veteran fretted. "Obama is doing a lot of great things, but unfortunately, a lot of people don't seem to trust him and think he's weak."
Trapped bear takes car for joy ride
Dwindling openings for Shaq
Multiple nicknames, dwindling openings for Shaq
There was a time, in the not-so-distant past, when Shaquille O'Neal rumbled across the country collecting nicknames and championship rings by the bundle, his career one great, giddy joyride, set to his own thumping soundtrack. He was the Diesel and the Big Aristotle, the Big Cactus and the Big Witness and always the life of the party.
Except the greatest, giddiest free-agent party in NBA history is proceeding without him. Shaq is the Big No-Show, which prompts the question: Is it time for the Big Farewell?
Twenty-three days have passed since the free-agent market opened. Sixty-five players have signed new contracts, including 13 centers. Darko Milicic got $20 million. Johan Petro got $10 million.
Yet O'Neal — the Most Dominant Ever, according to the syntactically awkward title he gave himself — is unemployed. Is this the end? Possibly.
This limbo is largely self-created. O'Neal, according to team executives, is seeking an $8 million salary. He wants a two-year deal. He is 38. He has trouble staying healthy. He can be helpful in spurts, but he is no longer the menacing figure who once ruled the paint.
"I don't know who takes him," said an Eastern Conference scout, citing O'Neal's diminished production.
Potential suitors keep drifting away.
The Dallas Mavericks had interest, but balked at O'Neal's salary demands. Instead, they re-signed Brendan Haywood for $55 million over six years, traded for Tyson Chandler and signed Ian Mahinmi.
The Atlanta Hawks were similarly intrigued, and similarly spooked by O'Neal's price tag. They are working to re-sign Jason Collins as their third center. The O'Neal talks are "dead," according to a team official.
The Boston Celtics needed a veteran to fill the void while Kendrick Perkins recovers from knee surgery. They found a younger, cheaper O'Neal — Jermaine, 31, who signed for two years and $12 million.
The Houston Rockets needed insurance for Yao Ming. They signed Brad Miller.
Miami needed an enforcer behind LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the SuperFriends. Instead of calling Superman, the Heat called Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Jamaal Magloire.
In Cleveland, where he spent last season, O'Neal is superfluous. Without James, there are no title hopes and no need for an aging All-Star center.
"I think he can definitely help a contender," the Mavericks' owner, Mark Cuban, said in an e-mail message. "It just didn't work for us once we signed Brendan."
There should be a soft landing spot for O'Neal, a future Hall of Famer: a contender who can offer one last shot at a title. The problem is that O'Neal torched the most fertile ground.
He would surely welcome a return to Los Angeles, where he won three championships with Kobe Bryant. But O'Neal alienated everyone from Bryant to staff members to the owner, Jerry Buss, before demanding a trade in 2004.
In theory, O'Neal could be a backup and mentor to Dwight Howard, the Magic's All-Star center. But he has repeatedly insulted Howard and mocked Orlando's coach, Stan Van Gundy. Nor would he be easily forgiven for calling Orlando "a dried-up pond" when he bolted for Hollywood in 1996.
The Heat provided O'Neal his last breath of postseason glory, a furious sprint to the title as Wade's co-star in 2006. That bridge was burned, too, after O'Neal's trade to Phoenix in 2008. He derided the Heat's medical staff, ripped the roster and — as he has done in nearly every city — complained about his role in the offense.
Even O'Neal's generally amicable departure from Phoenix last year was tinged with controversy — an allegation that he stole a television-show concept from Steve Nash, the Suns' star point guard. No one in Phoenix is pushing for a reunion.
If O'Neal is determined to retire with a contender, he might be out of options. The San Antonio Spurs are not interested. The Denver Nuggets are inundated with outsize personalities. He is too big for Utah, too demanding for Portland and too risky for Oklahoma City.
This has always been the Shaq package: muscle, mirth and bouts of mayhem. In his prime, he was worth the gamble. In his twilight, teams must hesitate — especially at a cost of $8 million.
To make that sum, O'Neal needs a sign-and-trade deal with the Cavaliers. That, too, is a complicating factor. And the longer O'Neal holds out for his price, the fewer jobs that remain.
Allen Iverson, another fading superstar, miscalculated the market last summer and had to wait until September to find a job. He signed with the Memphis Grizzlies, a middling franchise in a small market, for $3 million. It is hard to envision O'Neal doing the same.
Yet it still seems unlikely that O'Neal will remain unemployed. Although he averaged just 12 points and 6.7 rebounds last season — both career lows — he shot .566 from the field and can be an effective deterrent in the lane.
After losing the last 29 games of the season to a thumb injury, O'Neal returned for the playoffs, looking rusty but fit. He accepted a small, defined role and seemed fine with it.
A rival executive said O'Neal looked "better than I'd seen in a long time." But he no longer commands double teams or scrambles game plans.
If he retires now, after 18 seasons, O'Neal will leave with four championships, three finals MVP trophies and 15 All-Star appearances. He is fifth on the career scoring list, with 28,255 points, and second in field-goal percentage, at .581. His ticket to Springfield is assured.
In his prime, O'Neal boasted of sending All-Star centers into retirement — Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing, Rik Smits and David Robinson, Alonzo Mourning and Vlade Divac. Now he marks the time by watching inferior big men snap up roster spots: Aaron Gray and Timofey Mozgov, Tony Battie and Ben Wallace.
On his Twitter page, O'Neal still lists his location as "Cleveland/Everywhere." In the background is a promotional graphic for his TV show, "Shaq Vs." His last NBA-related tweet came on July 1, the day free agency began: "Yup, I got 720 days left."
The Big Optimist is still waiting for that final payday. But the Big Farewell might have begun.
Fixing broken gadgets making millions for entrepreneur
free spirit" savors success
Fixing broken gadgets making millions for entrepreneur
The Denver Post
Brett Mosley built BuyMyTronics.com, a million-dollar business, based on an idea he had after his camera and iPod broke.
He spent as much money fixing the camera as the cost of a new one, while the iPod fetched nearly as much on eBay as the price of a working one. "I thought something is wrong with this system," he said.
At the time, he had been itching to quit his job as a securities analyst for mortgage-backed securities. In 2006, he posted an ad seeking broken iPods on Craigslist. So many sellers responded that Mosley needed friends across the country to pick up the iPods in different cities.
After six months, in 2007, his profits were enough to build a website, which he called BuyMyBrokeniPod.com. Soon after, his site was featured in two widely read blogs, one at Mac/Life and the other at ReadyMade magazine's website.
Mosley renamed the website to BuyMyTronics.com as the options for sellers evolved to include cellphones, game consoles and Apple computers. Mosley expects to diversify its purchases further.
BuyMyTronics fixes the devices and sells many of them on eBay.
The website's revenue was $100,000 its first year, Mosley said. He projects $2 million to $3 million in sales this year, with the company buying and reselling 30,000 to 40,000 devices. The company employs 13.
"I was really blown away with how much money they gave me," said Max Gerson of Denver, who found the site during a Google search and has sold it three gadgets.
"I think it's a great concept," he said. "It exposes a niche in the market."
Mosley moved to Denver in 2006 after a downturn in the San Diego housing market forced him to look for work elsewhere. After 11 months, he quit his securities analyst job.
"I'm kind of a free spirit," Mosley said. "I really couldn't take the corporate life."
Mosley recently was named a Top of the Town entrepreneur in 5280 magazine, and national publications have cited his company for its business model.
One of the benefits of BuyMyTronics is that it keeps electronic devices out of landfills.
In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that of the 2.25 million tons of TVs, cellphones and computers ready for disposal, only 18 percent were recycled. The remaining 82 percent mainly went to landfills.
"People don't realize it's a problem, and if they do, they don't know there's a solution," said Rike Sandlin, director of environmental affairs at Intechra, a 20-year-old technology recycler.
Electronic waste makes up 75 percent of toxics infiltrating landfill space, directly threatening the soil and ground water, said Andy Hellmuth, BuyMyTronics' operations coordinator.
Candidate barred from using a racially charged phrase sues
Ieshuh Griffin, an independent candidate for the Wisconsin state Assembly, talks to the media Wednesday, July 21, 2010, at the state Capitol in Madison. (AP Photo/Todd Richmond)
Candidate can't use controversial…
Candidate takes expletive fight to court
Ieshuh Griffin running for Wisconsin Assembly
Updated: Friday, 23 Jul 2010, 9:26 AM CDT
Published : Friday, 23 Jul 2010, 9:26 AM CDT
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A legislative candidate from Wisconsin barred from using a racially charged phrase to describe herself on the ballot is taking her fight to federal court.
Ieshuh Griffin, an independent running for a downtown Milwaukee seat in the state Assembly, wants to use the phrase, "NOT the 'whiteman's b----."'
The state's Government Accountability Board on Wednesday barred her from using the language on the ballot and on Thursday she filed a federal writ of habeas corpus seeking an order allowing the wording.
The board said the wording was pejorative and therefore not allowed. Griffin argues the wording is protected free speech.
State law allows independent candidates to have five words describing themselves placed after their names on the ballot.
VP Joe Biden criticizes Tea Party
Biden criticizes Tea Party, says voters shouldn't be 'generically angry'
Vice President Joe Biden defended Rep. John Spratt's (D-S.C.) handling of the budget process at a fundraising event.
Vice President Joe Biden defended Rep. John Spratt's (D-S.C.) handling of the budget process at a fundraising event in Columbia, S.C. Friday.
Spratt, the House Budget Committee chairman, has come under fire from state Sen. Mick Mulvaney, his Republican opponent, for the House Democratic leadership's decision not to pass a budget blueprint in 2010.
During his speech, Biden instead noted Spratt's role in the Balanced Budget Agreement of 1997 and blamed the Bush administration for unraveling his good work.??
"This man engineered a balanced budget," Biden said, according to the poll report. "We left George W. Bush on his first day of office with a $270 billion operating surplus. These guys, our opponents, talking about balanced budgets and deficits is like an arsonist lecturing us on fire safety."
Biden said it’s “understandable” that many Americans are angry about the nation's economic situation. But when voters start paying attention to what the GOP alternative is, Democratic prospects will improve.
??"They don’t want to think about anything other than what's made them mad," Biden said. "Come September ... they're going to have to look at the alternatives and not just be generically angry."
Biden then noted his motorcade passed a Tea Party protest en route to the event.??
"Today’s Republican Party is not your father's Republican Party. It's the party of the Tea Party, some of whom I passed outside," he said. "I'm not questioning their integrity. I'm questioning their judgment."
Rush Limbaugh: Fox 'caved' on Shirley Sherrod
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Rush: Fox 'caved' on Sherrod
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Rush Limbaugh is blasting Fox News for its coverage of Shirley Sherrod, saying that one of the network’s anchors “caved” by not showing the original misleading video fragment that led to the firing of Shirley Sherrod.
The video, posted and promoted by Andrew Breitbart as a display of racism, was a sensation in conservative corners of the Internet, but Fox News host Shepard Smith explained Wednesday that his show had decided to not show the video.
“We on Studio B did not run the video and did not reference the story in any way for many reasons,” Smith said. “Among them: We didn't know who shot it, we didn't know when it was shot, we didn't know the context of the statement, and because the history of the videos on the site where it was posted. In short, we did not and do not trust the source.”
On his show Thursday, Limbaugh blasted Smith for not showing the video, suggesting that Smith showed restraint only because he didn’t have the “guts” to show it.
“Even Fox caved on this. Even poor old Shep Smith went down there and said that everybody's wrong on this, that Breitbart is wrong and so forth,” Limbaugh said during his show.
“There are only a handful of us that have the guts to put this story straight,” he said. “If we don't hammer back, nobody will. We got a bunch of cowards in the conservative media inside the Beltway which will not deal with this honestly.”
Picking up Breitbart’s defense of the video, Limbaugh argued that it was “not about Shirley Sherrod” but rather the NAACP’s recent accusation that the tea party is racist.
“This is about the continuing smearing of great patriotic Americans, which is all the left has left to do,” Limbaugh declared. “There's no racism in the tea party. They don't have racist signs.”
The conservative radio host also said that Smith and much of the rest of the media establishment were missing what the Sherrod story really revealed about the state of race relations during Barack Obama’s presidency.
“This regime is tribalizing this country,” he said. “They are dividing this country. It's not just enough to say that they are dividing us. They are tribalizing this country. We aren't Americans anymore. We're all members of different racial tribes, and we are to be pitted against each other: Black Americans, White Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans. We're all being divided up racially, by tribes.”
Lawyer arrested for burglarizing home of former client
Police: Arrested Longwood lawyer sent taunting texts to former client
Jeff Weiner and Susan Jacobson
Orlando Sentinel
9:18 p.m. EDT, July 23, 2010
Albert E. Ford II, 43, who specializes in environmental and land-use issues, and Kasee Singh, who has owned realty, development and title companies, were locked in a dispute over fees, documents show.
Singh filed a complaint in April with The Florida Bar. The group on July 13 informed Singh that his complaint was being dismissed because Ford's fees were not excessive or fraudulent. The Bar told Singh he was free to sue Ford if he wanted to pursue the matter.
Messages left for Singh were not returned. Ford's attorney could not be immediately reached.
Among the Bar documents released Friday was a Feb. 25 e-mail to Ford from Singh demanding payment and stating that his "former friend" owed more than $20,000.
"Well, you, sir, have proven to be a no good liar and I will be compensated for my work one way or another," Ford wrote, adding he would win a lawsuit against Singh so "the entire community knows what a sleazy, no good, deceitful jerk that you are."
Ford remained in the Seminole County Jail late Friday on charges of armed burglary to a dwelling, grand theft, burglary to an occupied dwelling and damaging property-criminal mischief.
Police say Ford is the man shown on security video burglarizing Singh's Lake Mary house Wednesday. He was arrested Thursday at his home, also in Lake Mary.
The armed burglary charge apparently was lodged after Singh told police that he found ammunition and gun parts near his garage. They were taken into evidence.
Singh told officers he arrived home from work to find damage to his house and pool. He also showed police several messages in which Ford offered a "last warning" and referred to Singh as a "weak puppy," the police report shows.
"I declare all out war against you," wrote Ford in the first message, received by Singh at 9:35 a.m. Wednesday, according to the report. "I warned you against trying to go after my livelihood. This is your last warning."
In two other messages in the report received minutes after the incident, Ford asks Singh, "Why are you so weak" and taunts, "What's up weak puppy."
Video and still photos released by police show a man driving up to Singh's house in a black pickup at 5:19 p.m. Wednesday, going to the front door, then walking around back and entering a pool enclosure.
Police say Ford broke the front doorbell, kicked a concrete bench into the pool and removed a pool tank and filter and canister on the side of the house near the pool. The filter and canister were found nearby.
In the video, the man, who was accompanied by a black dog — possibly a Labrador retriever — jiggles a large American flag in front of the house till it dislodges from its holder. He tosses the flag into the bed of his truck along with the tank and filter, then drives off with the dog in the pickup bed, too.
Singh showed police three .380-caliber rounds and pieces of a gun he said he found near his garage along with broken glass from a shattered light, the report says. Before he was arrested, the report states, assistants at Ford's law firm told authorities that Ford often carried a gun.
Ford graduated from Tulane University Law School in 1995 and was admitted to The Florida Bar the same year. The Bar website has no record of discipline against him during the past 10 years.
16 Most Outrageously Misleading Hotel Ads
Diners run without paying but forget purses
Dine-and-dash foiled when purses left at restaurant
Kathryn Wall
News-Leader
July 22, 2010
Three women skipped out on a $39 restaurant bill by running out the door, but two of them are paying a bigger price -- they forgot their purses.
Springfield police were called to the Waffle House at 3135 N. Glenstone because three women had run out on the check.
The general manager of the restaurant said the women came in around 6:15 Sunday morning. He described the women as seemingly intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. After about half an hour, the three women were handed a $39.31 bill.
The women then ran out the door, according to the manager, and into a gold Mitsubishi sedan. They left behind two purses. The manager called police and locked the purses in his office.
Not long after, one of the women returned and allegedly demanded the purses. The manager said he told the woman she could wait until the police arrived. She didn't.
The police report indicates that identifying documents -- including what appeared to be a
check stub from another Waffle House in Arkansas -- were found in each of the purses.
The purses are now being kept in the police department's property room. No charges have been filed as of Wednesday
Man shot in face with shotgun on a dare
Man shot in face with shotgun on a dare in Gifford
Posted July 21, 2010 at 5:33 p.m.
updated July 21, 2010 at 10:59 p.m.
GIFFORD — Indian River County deputies charged David Lee Martin, 62, with attempted murder after they said he shot a coworker in the face with a shotgun about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Community Auto Recycler’s Salvagers, 4845 45th St.
The victim, Ronny Bailey, was listed in critical condition at Indian River Medical Center Wednesday evening, said Jim Harpring, acting sheriff’s office spokesman. Detectives Wednesday evening were still investigating the motive for the shooting.
Martin worked as a night watchman for the salvage company and Bailey's job at the company was not known.
Witnesses said they heard a "loud boom" and later saw Bailey lying on the ground and Martin holding a double-barreled shotgun and removing shells from the gun.
Salvage company manager Eric Hein told detectives that Martin said he shot Bailey on a dare. Hein told detectives that Martin told him that Bailey said he didn’t have the courage to do it, "so I showed him,’’ according to an arrest report.
It was the second shooting in Gifford in five days.
In the first case, the suspect in a Sunday night non-fatal shooting in Gifford was arrested Tuesday night and booked into the Indian River County Jail, the Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.
Clifford Wallace, 43, of the 4400 block of 33rd Avenue, was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm and posted $10,000 bail Wednesday.
Wallace Yorker, 61, of the 4800 block of 32nd Avenue, told investigators he was outside talking with friends near 33rd Avenue and 47th Street when he got into an argument with Wallace. Witnesses said the two men had been drinking and arguing on and off throughout the day, the warrant affidavit states. Yorker said three or four shots were fired.
Wallace told investigators he had grabbed a .38 caliber revolver and fired because he thought Yorker was going to stab him.
Yorker was shot once in the left forearm and was treated for the injury at Indian River Medical Center.
Detectives don’t think the two shootings are related, Harpring said.
LINK TO VIDEO
10 mind-bending optical illusions
Sheriff Candidate's Sex Tape Leaked
Dirty Politics: Sheriff Candidate's Sex Tape Leaked
Shaun Chaiyabhat
10:06 PM CDT, July 21, 2010
FAST FACTS:
- John Doolen had affair 9 years ago
- Audio recording of affair leaked, sent to all registered voters
- Businessman who leaked tape says he wants "anybody but Doolen" to win
(Bolivar, TN 7/21/2010) The race for Hardeman County Sheriff has taken a dirty turn after a businessman leaked a taped phone call between on candidate and his mistress.
In his first run for Sheriff, John Doolen faces the dirtiest in politics where no skeleton stays hidden.
"I was caught in an extramarital affair nine years ago by my wife, which is still my wife, she forgave me," said Doolen who calls it "desperation" and "the lowest form of politics you can get".
Businessman Larry Charles Bates sent the audio recording to all registered voters in the county.
Bates has ties to Doolen's two biggest opponents and spent money on both campaigns.
Bates said he sent out the tape because his company is investing in the region and he lives in the county.
In the letter sent to voters, Bates wrote the "R-rated" private phone was recorded when Doolen was working at the Whiteville Police Department. When reached by phone, Bates would not reveal who gave him the tape, but he clearly stated whom he hopes it helps: "anybody but Doolen".
Bates threw money into T-A Cook's campaign as well as incumbent Sheriff Delphus Hicks' primary. Doolen defeated Hicks in the Democratic primary and Hicks is now a write-in candidate. Hicks denied having any part in leaking the tape and said Bates no longer contributes to his campaign. Cook did not reply to attempts to reach him.
"I wonder why this man would stoop to try to destroy a family just over a sheriff's election," said Doolen who wonders why anybody would spend this much money, and devote this much time, to a rural sheriff's race. Now his family must work through a bitter election and revisit a bitter private affair. His wife said she will stand by his side. FAST FACTS:
- John Doolen had affair 9 years ago
- Audio recording of affair leaked, sent to all registered voters
- Businessman who leaked tape says he wants "anybody but Doolen" to win
(Bolivar, TN 7/21/2010) The race for Hardeman County Sheriff has taken a dirty turn after a businessman leaked a taped phone call between on candidate and his mistress.
In his first run for Sheriff, John Doolen faces the dirtiest in politics where no skeleton stays hidden.
"I was caught in an extramarital affair nine years ago by my wife, which is still my wife, she forgave me," said Doolen who calls it "desperation" and "the lowest form of politics you can get".
Businessman Larry Charles Bates sent the audio recording to all registered voters in the county.
Bates has ties to Doolen's two biggest opponents and spent money on both campaigns.
Bates said he sent out the tape because his company is investing in the region and he lives in the county.
In the letter sent to voters, Bates wrote the "R-rated" private phone was recorded when Doolen was working at the Whiteville Police Department. When reached by phone, Bates would not reveal who gave him the tape, but he clearly stated whom he hopes it helps: "anybody but Doolen".
Bates threw money into T-A Cook's campaign as well as incumbent Sheriff Delphus Hicks' primary. Doolen defeated Hicks in the Democratic primary and Hicks is now a write-in candidate. Hicks denied having any part in leaking the tape and said Bates no longer contributes to his campaign. Cook did not reply to attempts to reach him.
"I wonder why this man would stoop to try to destroy a family just over a sheriff's election," said Doolen who wonders why anybody would spend this much money, and devote this much time, to a rural sheriff's race. Now his family must work through a bitter election and revisit a bitter private affair. His wife said she will stand by his side.
LINK TO VIDEO:




