People still fax?
Cartoon calamity: Racist illustrations sent to Sheila Jackson Lee & Obama drawthe FBI
When offensive cartoons were faxed to Houston congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee's office on Saturday, the staff wasn't fazed by the fact that a stranger would target Jackson Lee's race — such messages appear on a "regular basis," Jackson Lee said.
But Saturday's fax, which was also dispatched to the White House, was unique for its depiction of a lynching scene that had the names of Jackson Lee and President "Hussein Obama" on lynching posts. The fax carried the return address of "Defecating on Obama." Now the matter is under U.S. Secret Service and FBI investigation.
The fax came a day after Jackson Lee' address to the House in which she suggested that Obama is encountering difficulty in debt ceiling negotiations due to his race. That commentary included,
I am particularly sensitive to the fact that only this president — only this one, only this one — has received the kind of attacks and disagreements and inability to work, only this one. Read between the lines. What is different about this president that should put him in a position that he should not receive the same kind of respectful treatment when it is necessary to raise the debt limit in order to pay our bills, something required by both statute and the 14th Amendment?"
The congresswoman, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, added, "And in my community that is the question that we raise. In the minority community that is the question that is being raised."
Jackson Lee's interpretation hasn't been met with a positive reception by all. Washington Times columnist Bob Siegel wrote, "Her hint that it might be racism seems about as subtle and restrained as a sand filled paper bag dam over Niagara Falls."
While Siegel explores deep metaphors, the Secret Service is being less forthcoming with details on the investigation.
The new beer garden will be similar to Katy Beer Garden.
Photo by