as black citizens of this supose to be united states we must not allow racist comments without addressing them .but we must not allow them to distract us from our goal .

All of the comments/actions in the above story are completely unacceptable. It's hard to believe such hatred, insensitivity and stupidity still exists. Some people simple will never get a clue. The human race is such a paradox - so many wonderful things we think, do and create...yet the inhumanity and lack of compassion for fellow humans is frightening and horrible..

I was flabergasted to read these things although not surprised. As much progress as the nation makes in moving diversity forward, there are too many ignorant individuals to count who are in positions of power that make statements "because they perceive them to be funny." These individuals need to be held to task by the public who elected them for taking a harder line than a warning with these types of individuals. It's not okay to say this will not be tolerated and then tolerate the behavior by continuing to employ the person who did it. Right or wrong, it makes it seem like the elected official employing the person is okay with this behavior or would even joke about this themselves..

I think that it is time for the Republican Party to have some one conduct Sensitivity Training. But then what did we expect from a party who only represents the Deep South!.

Post Racial? I don't think so...we are far far from such a place..

Not too surprised as I expect this behavior from those people in that mindset, they usually do not disappoint. I also believe the world knows what to expect from those types of people as well. As they continue to lose relevance and respect outside of their rightfully shrinking niche they will continue to try and drag everyone else into their mud. Let us not waste too much time on them as they have their tantrums as any attention trumps none at all..

I don't think either of these folks should lose their jobs. They should be provided counseling on what is appropriate and then given the chance to prove what they've learned. Sen. Black appears to be taking that approach, and I think that's fair. If they continue this behavior, then they should be terminated. .

I'm not surprised that Republicans' attempts at humor are immature, unsophisticated and not funny. Keep it up, Republicans, and continue to lose your credibility.And, speaking of credibility, how can Diane Black say, "...I will not tolerate this kind of communication from my office" but not fire the person responsible? By keeping the perpetrator on staff, she is, by definition, tolerating it. Ridiculous..

Join the republican party, we won't leave you hanging, unless your a minority. How many of us can say, or send racist e-mails at work, and only get a reprimand? To me it just shows the republicans not only tolerate, but expect the hooded klan mentality in their party. Why are the top republican's speaking out on this, I take they agree. Silence equals expectance, that is how Hitler gained power. .

their own kind when they see it. It takes a bunch of animals to know some animals..

It is a sad day in America actually. Tennessee and South Carolina both are significantly behind the times and worse they have adapted to slinking along beneath surface with their racism. Many other states are not far behind. I am just sad for this nation. But then how can we expect better when we have a white radio talk show host like Rush Limbaugh and a TV talking head like Shawn Hannity slinking along as well and getting rich at it and also gaining popularity at it. I am white. I am speaking out and I am saying that this is wrong and that other white men and women who want to see our Nation progress forward should speak out when things like this happen and that includes Senator Dianne Black from Tennessee. Republicans and Democrates should speak LOUD against racial remarks, jokes, photo, posters wherever. .

Of course these were jokes--they are nasty, bigoted, and hateful jokes, betraying the originators prejudices and frustrations. I'm only surprised that they were stupid enough to write these things down and disseminate them electronically.Let's stay on target: file these incidents appropriately, and move on to the business of getting things done..

This type of crap just makes me so angry I would just love to torture these imbeciles. There is absolutely no excuse for these incredibly stupid individuals to not lose their jobs. I would like so see them put in jail. I am a white women, 52, and a former soldier. These idiots are talking about my Commander-in-Chief and the First Lady. Where is their integrity and intelligence? For the imbecile, Rusty DePass, a gorilla's skin is white not black you moron and extremely poor excuse for a human being.If I ever find out of someone I know that sends out this kind of malicious, nafarious garbage, I will take matters into my own hands.Enough said!!!.

"WOW" is all I can say in the year of 2009. IGNORANCE is still what we have to deal with at this time. We the people elected The Obama's to that office (White House) and mind you, they won it fair and square. I would suggest to those who use hate to lighted-up the fact a black family is occupying the white space... get over yourselves and move-on..

Watch out for double standards, people. As thoughtless and insensitive as these comments are, we must still remember to watch out for double standards..

How do you think the Republican Party stays in power in Tennessee and the rest of the South? It's the votes of racists, especially in the segregated suburbs, that put the post-Nixon Republican Party of the South in office and keeps it in office. If she fires her staffer, she might come to be perceived as excessively anti-racist. .

I am not shocked. Inexplicably, some people have been trained to hate based on skin color alone and they're okay with that - no questions asked. Sadly, being educated and having power and influence have not tempered their ignorance. My response as a black woman is to keep living my life and continue watching my back. I will not be defeated. .

I am not as concerned about the racist e-mails, that are obviously ignorant, as I am about the "please forward to everyone you know" messages that contain distorted messages or outright lies about the Obama Administration. Many of them are sent to veterans (like Von Braun). I always check Snopes.com and hit "Reply All" with a link to the truth. I urge everyone to do this as a continuation of the "Fight the Smears" campaign during President Obama's campaign..

I think high profile professionals should be held accountable for making racist marks, that are later passed off us jokes. They know it's not a joke and intentionally make these comments expecting for nothing to happen. I think they should be terminated especially holding a political office and with the country trying to move in a forward direction with diversity. Since Pres. Obama has been in office I have seen a large stream of diversed commercials and companies that seem to have changed their way of thinking when it comes to minorities, therefore it cannot be accepted when the country is working so hard to put the past behind us..

The same people who are so completely racist that they don't even realize that these types of comments and actions are totally unacceptable have the nerve to call Sonya Montemayor "racist" for expressing the truism that being from a disadvantaged background might result in her having greater insight - "wisdom" - than a White male. What hypocrisy and hubris! .

Im all for the firing of this individual if all will concede that Letterman should be fired for his tastless joke regarding the Palin daughters. Both incidents were meant to by funny. Both were tasteless. Now seriously, they are both jokes, and while not particularly funny, I do believe neither should be let go for simply telling a joke. Sorry. This is American and we do have free speech here. People have the right to their own opinions even if you dont agree with them. .

While these incidents are wrong and a source of anger, I have been taking note of them, but then moving on. I try not to let these things anger me or distract me from the more positive things that are happening in our country. I have lived long enough to see that one's prior back acts have a way of catching up with them. These people will get their comeuppance, whether we are there to see it or not. I take solace in knowing this..

Let me get this straight. David Letterman can call Sarah Palin a "slutty flight attendant" and say that her daughter got "knocked up" by Alex Rodriguez, but nobody can call Obama a gorilla. Sounds like a typical double standard. I bet you if he called Obama a slutty flight attendant and talked about knocking up her daughters, his head would have rolled. As it stands, his comments seemed to be accepted by the liberal media..

The more we shout about these inequities perpetuated by a segment of ignorant society, the more garbage they will produce. My mother always told me to let them talk and have their say and ignore them and eventually they will go away. Will hate and racisim ever go away NO, because there will always be that ignorant segment that will perpetuate this way of thinking. But, by ignoring them you take away the power they think they have. One thing we must remember is the man won the election by winning over the people and that means all races. I think he is really handling these barbs in a real dignified and diplomatic manner. .

"which many perceive as having racist intent" Ya think? What the heck else could it be? You would not see this if President Obama wasn't African-American. End of story. .

Compassion. We should show compassion to all. We know that we have free speech, but choose your words carefully. Words do hurt. They also show the heart of the speaker. Use caution always..

Ignorance abounds in indviduals and political parties. I don't think all republicans are unfit raceist, nor do I think all Democrats are free of racism. It appears that the cesspool of racist individuals rises to the top when they feel threatened. What can we expect when Rush Limbaugh is the leader of the far right?.

And, did man originate from the ape? Wow, Michelle Obama is a beautiful gorilla and her husband loves her. Eat your hearts out, Republicans!.

Once people start losing jobs and realizing that we mean business then things will change. America's not serious about eradicating any of the ism's. We are constantly tolerating it and making excuses..

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."The Founders had no concept of the Internet, 24-hour news, emails or Radio Talk Shows (Marconi wasn't born yet).They also had no concept of 3/5 of a person occupying the Oval Office (women couldn't vote before the Suffrage Movement).That being said: Letterman's comments were written FOR him and in poor taste. The joke writer should be fired, not Letterman: he's going from a script he's given and teleprompter he works from. He apologized to the governor. Move on.The email was equally in poor taste. Demographics is working against the Republican Party. They have to retool from the party of religious conservatives - a brand they picked up after the '88 run of Pat Robertson - and white males. This email and their insistant attacks on Sotomayor, without doubt the most qualified to ever approach the nomination to the Supreme Court, will turn off moderates and ethnic minorities, WHICH THEY NEED if they have a chance of getting back into power. They're own pundits advise it, but they're not listening. Ironically, Matthew 5:5 states (in RED): "Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.".

The most effective response to would be insulting, outrageous, racist and other comments is none.Work on turning your anger into positive energy; if not, the would be insulters win.No reposnse, they go away. Really..

Very sad, this is our first family. Our country have come a long way, this type of remarks are very, poor taste. Our children are a reflection of us, so lets teach them to love and respect each other, regardless of color. The best part about the Obama family is that they are both highly educated. Michelle, is a great example for our daughters, regardless of her skin color. Lets not teach the next generation hateful comments. It would be wonderful if all our elected officials put all their efforts in solving out current problems, example unemployment, then taking the time to make unacceptable jokes..

People keep saying watch the "double standard"... How is it a double standard? Comedian vs. an elected official (or government/state employee), how can we hold them to the same standard? Give me a break with the double standard biz! It also upset me that some keep posting ignore it, why should we ignore racism? You can't be passively anti racist? That is why we are dealing with these issue today...the elephant in the room and everyone ignores it? Take a stand and have zero tolearance, but don't be silent and passive because your silence may communicate agreement. .

I would like to address Brent Mohrman's comment about the secretary being fired as well as David Letterman. Both should be reprimanded for their comments; however the secretary made her comments on government time, on a government computer, and while representing the government. This violated de minimus use and was a poor representation of her office in general. As a government employee I am held to a higher standard and so should she. She should be fired - she claimed she "sent it to the wrong list of people"...there is NO right list of people..

These "jokes", words, restaurant food itesm and emails are intentional. They are meant to reaffirm the perspective of the person who states, attempts to sell or writes them. Later, comes the so-called meaningless, heartless apology statement: "if I have offended" and "it was taken out of context" statements. All of which merely gives comfort to like minded folks to let them know they are still fighting the fight. .

I would like to address Brent Mohrman's comment about the secretary being fired as well as David Letterman. Both should be reprimanded for their comments; however the secretary made her comments on government time, on a government computer, and while representing the government. This violated de minimus use and was a poor representation of her office in general. As a government employee I am held to a higher standard and so should she. She should be fired - she claimed she "sent it to the wrong list of people"...there is NO right list of people..

It's an EXCELLENT reminder for those that say because there's a black President, racism is dead, we need to move on and get over ourselves, that that's not true. Thanks for the reminder. I'm sure they'll find a way to keep up the racist, I mean ... the good work..

I really wish someone could tell me why a lot of whites conider themselves better than someoe of color? Why has it always been a major race issue between whites and blacks? People who make stupid racist remarks like that are nothing more than ignorant and evil people. Racism and hatred is nothing but the devil's work, and obviously most whites seem to be inflicted with this disease. The Obamas are great and honorable people, they don't deserve to be belittled this way especially not by pathetic men like Rusty DePass and his whole Republican crew. Obama is our president folks, and a great one at that. He makes mistakes, we all do, but that doesn't make him a worthless president either. He's our commander and chief and Michelle is our first lady! Deal with it folks..

All of the so-called jokes referenced in this article were inappropriate. I am not sure about firing people over the first time offenses. That congressional staffer is probably some 20-something just out of college who is probably about as mature as the "joke" presidential portrait she sent. You have to give a supervisor some discretion in this case. Otherwise you just made a passive bigot a bitter racist. I also note the remarks people make about double standards when dealing with racism. Don Imus can't call the Rutgers basketball team "nappy" but D.L. Hughley can turn around and say it and people laugh. (For the record, I felt even worse for the team after Hughley's remark--they had been subjected twice to nasty remarks). The elections commissioner made a truly idiotic remark. I can't say that he is a believer in evolution or intelligent design because most of those believers know that modern apes are not the predecessors of homo sapiens (modern humans). I can't say he is a creationist because he tries to reference evolution in his joke. As for David Letterman, his humor is getting to be crass. For example, he had Britney Spears on his show when she was pregnant and told her she looked beautiful; after the birth of her child, he made a comment about her being a whale. There's a reason why he lost out on the tonight show a second time....

First, the statement was a slur and not a joke, so let's not dignify it. Secondly, we need to recognize there are and will probably always be bigots. The Jews have been dealing with them for over 2000 years. Thus, I suggest we marginalize and not give "air time" to the statements of bigots. Perhaps they will someday get the message that the rest of us find such statements unacceptable..

To me, I am not that surprised. I hear people talking about a post racial society, and I just shake my head, knowing full well that we are a long way from that type of society. When I see things like this, it tells me that racism has not ended, just that it was hiding. Now, it rearing its ugly head again. .

I am a white person who was called Planet of the Apes and monkey-face growing up. It was not about racism for me, it was about humiliation and degradation -- but both have a common denominator -- hate and fear. I hold to certain Republican ideals, but I could never be a Republican because of the type of people who have hijacked this party. They are mean, ugly, ignorant, and self-absorbed. The Obamas are just bringing it out into the light. That may be a good thing, because at least then we can identify it and deal with it. The Republican party will continue to die if it doesn't address the ugliness of some of its constituents. We need the right, but we don't need their hate and ignorance..

I think this is so sad, to say such horrible things about our First Lady. she does not desrve to be treated this way. I think the person should be suspended, made an example I bet they and anyone else who knows this story will remember there are consequeses for your actions. We all deserve a second chance but this person should be reprimanded..

I find it amazingly childish on the behalf of those making racist jokes about the president, but joke or no joke, he's still THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!.