Tennessee CEO sorry for comparing Michelle Obama to chimp in email

This is the type of nonsense that falls under the radar


An emailed "joke" from an Tennesee CEO comparing the First Lady to a famous movie chimp ended up being no laughing matter.
The CEO of the Tennessee Hospitality Association issued an apology this weekend for an offensive e-mail he recently sent to several people, including members of the press and a public official, comparing Michelle Obama to Cheetah from the Tarzan movies.
"I deeply apologize to anyone who is offended by this action," Walt Baker said in a statement.
"I hope that those who know me realize that the message was not intended to be malicious or hurtful in any way and can find it in their hearts to forgive me."
However, Baker is apparently confused on why someone would find it offensive, describing the joke as "political humor."
"I did not think or consider its implications, other than that it was political humor," he wrote. "I am saddened that anyone misinterpreted the sentiments behind the e-mail."
Baker's e-mail, which someone had sent him and he forwarded, contained a photo of Michelle Obama along side a photo of Tarzan's chimpanzee sidekick.
"I have never considered myself bigoted, or racially insensitive, or a racist," Baker told News Channel 5.
The president of Nashville's Convention & Visitors Bureau, Butch Spyridon, was one of the people to receive the e-mail, and said he was "embarrassed" by the gag.
"The content is deeply hurtful to all in our city and beyond," he wrote in a statement. "The attitudes expressed in the email are both appalling and unacceptable, and are not shared or condoned in anyway by the NCVB or by me personally."
Spyridon said Baker's marketing firm, Mercatus Communications, has since lost its contract to help promote the city's new convention center.
"The e-mail was extremely offensive," Nashville's Mayor Karl Dean said in a statement. "It does not reflect who we are as a city and our values."
According to WSMV Channel 4 News in Nashville, this isn't the first time an e-mail with racist content has caused a controversy in the southern city.
Back in October, several hundred state workers received an e-mail proclaiming "white pride," and shortly after that, 20 Senate staffers were sent an e-mail from a legislative aide with President Obama seen on a black background as just a pair of eyes.
"I regret having done it," Baker said on News Channel 5. "I wished I had not pushed that button."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/03/07/2010-03-07_tennessee_ceo_walt_baker_sorry_for_humor_email_gag_comparing_michelle_obama_to_c.html#ixzz0hb02o8S7

Ky. man charged with threatening Obama in Web poem

By BRETT BARROUQUERE

The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Kentucky man has been charged with posting a poem threatening President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on a white supremacist Web site.
U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Stephan M. Pazenzia said Johnny Logan Spencer Jr., 27, of Louisville wrote and posted the poem, titled "The Sniper," on a page called NewSaxon.org. The site is described as an "Online Community for Whites by Whites." The poem was posted in August 2007, according to an arrest affidavit.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Dave Whalin on Friday ordered Spencer released on $25,000 bond, but kept under house arrest at a family member's home. He's charged with making threats against the president and threatening to kill or injure a major candidate for the office of the president.
The poem describes a gunman shooting and killing a "tyrant" later identified as the president, setting off panic in the wake of the fatal shot being fired.
"The bullet that he has chambered is one of the purest pride, And the inspiration on the casing reads DIE negro DIE," the poem states.
Spencer used the online moniker "Pain1488," a reference to a phrase used by white nationalists as well as an homage to Adolf Hitler.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Chance told Whalin that, even though investigators linked no weapons to Spencer, the poem doesn't qualify as protected political speech.
"This is a threat by an individual against an individual simply because of who he is," Chance said. "He is the president and he is black."
Federal public defender Laura Wyrosdick said no one took action to harm Obama in the two years the poem has been publicly available.
"We're here today because Mr. Spencer allegedly wrote a poem, a work of art," Wyrosdick said.
After the hearing, Spencer's cousin, Paula McGill of Louisville, said family members were shocked by Spencer's arrest.
"I don't think he thought it was going to catch up with him," McGill said. "He's not a harmful guy at all."
The Secret Service became aware of the poem just after the 2008 election that made Obama the first black president in the country's history. An arrest affidavit says the Secret Service referenced the writing in a report on the white supremacist National Socialist movement. But at the time, the affadavit says, "Spencer was never identified, located, or interviewed."
The investigation started a week ago when an informant faxed a copy of the writings and Spencer's identity to the FBI, Pazenzia said.
Pazenzia said Spencer acknowledged writing the poem but gave multiple addresses to investigators, none of which appeared to be his actual residence. Searches of the homes were fruitless, Pazenzia said.
Spencer is currently on probation from a state drug conviction in Louisville.
If convicted of the new charges, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
(This version CORRECTS to say Spencer was not identified as the author of the poem in November 2008.))