Content from our friends over at The Collin County Observer
Thursday, June 4, 2009 , Updated 1:07 p.m., June 5, 2009
UPDATED: Collin County racist e-mail a version of political porn
Ed Housewright at the Dallas Morning News published an article yesterday about an email blast sent by a Vice-Chair of the Collin County GOP. The email was sent by Vice-Chair Diann Jones to numerous Republican operatives and clubs.
District Judge Chris Oldner was so offended by what he termed as a 'derogatory racial message" in the email that the good judge chastised Ms. Jones in a stern emailed reply sent to her and dozens of other leading Republicans.
Diann Jones apologized but was quoted in the DMN as saying that she did not write the offending racial comment, but merely forwarded it on with out noticing it was there.
The Collin County Observer has obtained a copy of the email, and my examination would tend to support Ms. Jones claim. The statement that caused the offense appeared to be written by a person using the email address of Linda Jenkins, who is the Republican Precinct Chair in Collin County's Precinct 13.
Let me say that I'm not exactly shocked that there are some Republicans who would make racially derogatory statements. I daresay that there are members of all political parties who are capable of firing that kind of bigoted cheap shot. I applaud judge Oldner and Judge Dry for standing up and saying that race-baiting is inappropriate. Its worse than that, its hateful and un-American.
But having said all that, I really want to rant about the whole genre of political chain emails that I'll call 'political porn'.
This 'political porn' generally takes the shape of email blasts spread in viral fashion from one persons contact list to another. The emails are almost always patently false, but they are designed to incite fear and hatred of the opposition. they prey on the base fears of the ignorant, the uninformed...and it would appear of the GOP leadership here in Collin County.
Lets look at Ms. Jones' email blast.
First of all, this particular emailed porn warns of a Senate bill that will require registration of all guns, they will be taxed, and the owners fingerprinted. The email says that no one will knows this is going to happen because a Senate committee is amending the tax code - the emails contends that the committee can pass the law without a full Senate vote.
You've got to remember that Ms. Jones is a political operative. She sent her porn to other politically active folks. Have they never read the Constitution of The United States? Have they never taken a civics class? No committee can ever enact legislation. It takes both houses of Congress and a Presidential signature.
Now this email porn has been passed around the internet for almost a decade. It was originally written in 2000 as an attack on Bill Clinton's administration. The assertions in the email were marginally wrong in 2000 and nothing less than a big lie in 2009.
I see several of this type of emailed porn every week. Those who believe them are dumb, those who forward them off to their friends them are dumber still.
The email (recipients names deleted)
Diann,
I am offended by the derogatory racial message in the highlighted portion of the e-mail below. As a Republican elected official, I find this hostile race-baiting inappropriate and counterproductive. You are a leader of our party here in Collin County and greater care must be taken to eliminate this type of communication from being forwarded by or, God forbid, generated by our party leaders.
We are fighting to win the hearts and minds of the citizens of this County, this State and this Country. This only makes that fight more difficult.
Chris Oldner
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: EMMADIANN@---.com
Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 09:03:42 -0400
Subject: Fwd: FW: Senate Bill SB-2099
To: EMMADIANN@---.com
Diann Jones
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We found the real 'Hotel California' and the 'Seinfeld' diner. What will you find? Explore WhereItsAt.com.
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
From: ronjenk@---.net
To:
Subject: FW: Senate Bill SB-2099
Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 21:17:16 -0500
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Ronald Jenkins [mailto:nativetexan_01@---.com] Sent: Monday, May 25, 2009 9:12 PM Subject: FW: Senate Bill SB-2099
Another terrific idea from the black house and its minions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Subject
> FW: Senate Bill SB-2099
>
>
>
> Senate Bill SB-2099 will require us to put on our 2009 1040 federal tax
>
> form all guns that you have or own. It may require fingerprints and a tax
>
> of $50 per gun.
>
>
>
> This bill was introduced on Feb. 24. This bill will become public
>
> knowledge 30 days after it is voted into law. This is an amendment to the
>
> Internal Revenue Act of 1986. This means that the Finance Committee can
>
> pass this without the Senate voting on it at all.
>
>
> The full text of the proposed amendment is o n the U.S. Senate
>
> homepage http://www.senate.gov and search on "SB-2099".
> You know who to call; I strongly suggest you do. Please send a copy of
>
> this e-mail to every gun owner you know to help STOP this bill!!
>
UPDATE: Some people ought to quit while they're behind.
Yesterday, I wrote about the email flap that has some local GOP officials upset.
The point I tried to make was that political, incendiary chain emails are no better than porn. They are usually filled with lies, and are designed to incite fear or hate.
I also pointed out that the particular email sent by officials of the Collin County GOP was not only hateful, but stupid too. Anyone with any understanding of how government works should have instantly seen that the email's assertion that a committee of the US Senate could enact a law in secret, without a vote of the Senate was bogus.
Ms. Jones, the GOP Vice-Chair who sent the offending email, was so miffed at her public chastisement over a racial slur in that chain email porn, that she sent all the Collin County Judges an angry email rant.
But, in protesting her "simple mistake", Ms. Jones made a statement that instantly caught my attention.
Vice-Chair Jones wrote that she forwarded the chain email porn in her role as, "legislative chairman for one of the local [Republican] clubs". She was merely trying to enlighten her fellow Party members of the impending passage of SB 2099 - a bill that was 10 years old and that was going to be passed without a Senate vote, because she tries to keep GOP club "members apprised of all noteworthy legislation."
You're kidding me, right? This kind of stuff is what the officers are telling the rank and file members?
1. The SB 2099 described in the chain email porn Jones sent was introduced in the United States Senate in 2000. It never even made it to committee.
2. Bills that do not get enacted during a legislative or congressional session die. They can not be voted on 10 years later.
3. NO bill can be enacted by a legislative committee. Article 1 of the US Constitution explains very clearly how a bill becomes law.
4. SB 2099 was not noteworthy legislation in 2000, and it is certainly nothing more than an arcane artifact of legislative trash today. It died 9 years ago.
Perhaps Judge Self's recent fiascos in Austin were the result of his taking legislative advice from the Legislative Chair of a local GOP club?
From: EMMADIANN@---.com [mailto:EMMADIANN@---.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 1:47 PM
To: Judge Robert Dry; Judge Oldner; Judge Copeland; Judge Douglas; Judge John E.Payton; Judge Johnny G. Lewis; Judge Mike Yarbrough; Judge Paul Raleeh; Judge Barry; Judge Danny Wilson; Judge Greg Willis; Judge Lewis; Judge Mason; Judge Ray Wheless; Judge Brewer; Judge Curt Henderson; Judge Cyndi Wheless; Judge Jill Willis; Judge John Roach Jr.; Judge Mark Rusch; Judge Suzanne Wooten; collincountygop@---.net
Subject: Re: Senate Bill SB-2099
To All Concerned,
I made my apologies for forwarding an email that I believed only described a Senate Bill working it's way through the legislature and when I did so I was unaware of the words that Judge Oldner highlighted and then forwarded on to a list of other people that even included those not originally on my email list. I offer as an example of those who were not on my original list; dottyrag@---.com, dclem26@---.com, dpanetti@---.org, noble.house@---, neudorff@---.net, camaral@---.com, shoer03@---.com, bestlawyer2000@---.com, mike@---.org, cpconrad@---.org, and the list goes on. Who are all these new people that Judge Oldner has sent my email to.....? I am ever so repentant for forwarding an email without reading every word of it - it was obviously a mistake, and I have emailed an apology to all on my email list taking responsibility for unknowingly forwarding an email that contained those words. As soon as I received the email from Judge Oldner, I emailed him an apology, but that did not seem to be enough. I serve as a legislative chairman for one of the local clubs and I try to keep its members apprised of all noteworthy legislation. The words highlighted by Judge Oldner do not define me as a person or my personal feelings or beliefs and if I had noted the words I never would have forwarded the email because I am aware of the damage something like that could do.
I am now beginning to suspect that this attack upon me might be part of another type of agenda. One that is even more callus and distasteful than one might suspect. There are some really strange things going on in this county.....for instance someone buying up all the websites that are spelled out similar to Judge Keith Self's website and trying to smear him by pointing to porn sites..... I am planning to have a fund-raiser at my home for the current County Judge Keith Self and now I seem to be the center of an attack for something that was a simple mistake that I have already apologized for?? Very strange indeed! I am here and I will be happy to answer any questions that anyone might have of me and I do wish that Judge Oldner would have personally called me to bring this to my attention and ask me about it instead of doing the things he has now done. It seems to me that would have been the more judicious manner in which to handle this issue if that was truly what he was interested in.
I remain,
Diann Jones
Pegasus News content partner - The Collin County Observer
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Pavel Lishin, says:
<i>Diann Jones apologized but was quoted in the DMN as saying that she did not write the offending racial comment, but merely forwarded it on with out noticing it was there.</i>
Like I'll tell <b>everyone</b> and their <b>granny</b> - 1) Stop forwarding garbage, 2) at least read garbage before forwarding it, 3) If you're not sure whether it's garbage or not, don't forward it, and 4) Just get off the internet.
Verified
6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Matt Anderson, says:
Besides, if you're going to forward anything, it's just common courtesy to strip off all the extra junk and email addresses, leaving only the substantive content.
Verified
6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Travis Bush, says:
Good old boys and technology...always there for a laugh.
Verified
6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Matt Anderson, says:
<i>No committee can ever enact legislation. It takes both houses of Congress and a Presidential signature.</i>
Well, that's true. But since our dear legislators can't be bothered to actually read the legislation they're voting on, it's entirely possible for the drafters, legislative committees, or the conference committee to stick something in that will never actually be considered on the merits before being passed.
Verified
6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Travis Bush, says:
"Its worse than that, its hateful and un-American."
It is also offensive to the office of the President, not to mention a fairly good indicator that the Republicans have learned little. And this tidbit is fairly delusional..
We are fighting to win the hearts and minds of the citizens of this County, this State and this Country. This only makes that fight more difficult. Chris Oldner
More like trying to maintain an ever shrinking support base. The only hearts and minds the Texas Republicans have ever been concerned with are ones they could gerrymander into their own voting districts.
Verified
6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
AnnMarie Wilson, says:
When I get crap like this from people with limited brain cell activity... I hit REPLY TO ALL (since they never strip out any addresses) and simply tell them it's not correct.
Then I provide a link to the truth - usually from Snopes.com. I found that they can't argue too much when I reference a 3rd-party source.
And then just before hitting SEND, I rub my hands in glee.
Petty, but very satisfying.
Verified
6 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
WilliamDRowlett, says:
I'm a Republican in Collin County and will NEVER apologize for it. What is annoying to me is when an obvious liberal like Travis Bush and other Democrats try to link the GOP to racism every chance they get. That is not us.
In 1991, when David Duke was proclaiming to be a Republican while seeking to be Louisiana's governor, I cringed. If I'd been a La. voter, I'd have voted for Edwin Edwards. I spoke out that David Duke doesn't speak for me or any Republicans. Pres. George H.W. Bush at the time said basically the same thing.
At the same time, the Democrats have their "Southern gentleman US Senator" from W. Va. Robert Byrd who is an unrepentant former Ku Klux Klansman. I don't see the outrage about him or when he has actually recently uttered the ugly "n-word" on TV.
As far as I'm concerned, Diann Jones did just fine with her response. She recognized her mistake right away and fixed it. As for David Duke AND Robert Byrd, neither one belongs in my Republican party.
Anonymous
4 months, 1 week agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal