(Photo: Courtesy MSNBC)

Ah, Twitter. So alluring, yet so, so dangerous. Just ask Joe Williams, who may or may not be on his way out as the White House correspondent for the Capitol Hill newspaper Politico.

The veteran reporter was suspended indefinitely without pay last week after suggesting during an appearance on Martin Bashir’s MSNBC show that Republican Mitt Romney only feels comfortable with the “white folks at Fox and Friends.”

“That’s one of the reasons why he seems so stiff and awkward in some town hall settings, why he can’t relate to people other than that,” Williams told host Martin Bashir.  “But when he comes on Fox and Friends, they’re like him, they’re white folks who are very much relaxed in their own company.”

Yes, Williams was a bit frank, but plenty of other reporters have publicly commented on how Romney does indeed seem to vastly prefer Fox and shies away from appearing on other networks. But they framed it as more of a conservative thing than a white thing, which is not to say they weren’t thinking it.

A video of his comment was flagged by the conservative Web site Washington Free Beacon. Breitbart.com, the site founded by the late Andrew Breitbart, who tried to bring down former Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod, also posted the video.

The incident has prompted debate about whether racism played a role in the decision to suspend Williams because Politico’s newsroom is widely considered to be woefully lacking in diversity. But when they announced the suspension, founding editors John Harris and Jim VandeHei told the staff in a memo that, “Regrettably, an unacceptable number of Joe Williams’s public statements on cable and Twitter have called into question his commitment” to his responsibility to be fair and unbiased.

On its own, the “white folks at Fox” comment likely would not have led to the suspension. But apparently Williams also has in the past tweeted some incendiary and politically incorrect messages, including one about a part of Romney’s anatomy that rhymes with politi-chick.

Twitter is so seductive and spontaneous a medium that it’s easy to get carried away in 140 characters or less. It’s kind of like that sexy bad boy mothers warn their daughters about. Even though you really want to, if you think about it, you know you can’t. And that’s the key, Twitterlings — you’ve got to think about it. Just ask Joe Williams.

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Allen West has chosen an interesting way to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He hosted a press conference at which most of the participants slammed Islam and screened a virulently anti-Muslim documentary, titled Sacrificed Survivors: The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Mega-Mosque. Produced in association with the Christian Action Network, the film focuses on a proposed Islamic cultural center that was to be built a few blocks from Ground Zero. Opponents say the entire area is sacred ground and in essence a massive grave.

The event featured individuals who for the decade have struggled to overcome the inexplicable loss of loved ones who were killed on that fateful day. Only those who have experienced such a tragedy can truly share their pain, and it is good for them to have forums in which to express it.  Some even acknowledged that there are no legal or constitutional reasons to prohibit what they’ve dubbed a “morally wrong mega-mosque,” but other sentiments shared were alarming and verging on jingoism.

One speaker declared that Islam is not even a religion–and West agreed. According to the Florida lawmaker, it’s a “theocratic political construct ideology” in desperate need of reform. He also said that he fears Americans have not learned anything from the attacks and are unwilling to confront the threat of Islamic extremists both here and abroad, because it is politically incorrect.

“I am not sitting up here condemning people who call themselves Muslims. Now is the time we have to challenge this ideology,” West said. “If we are to peacefully coexist they have to come into the 21^st century and push aside a lot of these seventh-century ideas they still hold.”

This week is supposed to be about healing, but such vitriol is far from soothing. And it begs the question: What would Harriet Tubman think?

(Photo: David Limbaugh)

After seeing this photo juxtaposing Texas Gov. Rick Perry and President Obama, I am really shocked—and kind of saddened—by just how awful some people are. This latest example of extreme disrespect comes courtesy of Rush Limbaugh’s brother David, who tweeted the  photo late last month. He says the image, which clearly has racist undertones, was sent to him by a friend.

I wish that people who don’t have black or brown skin would start calling out the people who are so appalled that America elected an African-American president, that they will say, tweet and email just about anything.

Some people will undoubtedly be bothered by the “boys” reference, which I don’t have a problem with. But the patriot vs. the pimp daddy implication is extremely offensive because it reinforces the belief within the Tea Party movement and among far-right conservatives that Obama is un-presidential and not fit for office or deserving of the respect it normally commands. It is also an inaccurate comparison. Perry was actually 22 when his photo was taken, while the future president was closer to 19 or 20.

I hope Obama is writing about this stuff for his next memoir. Luckily, he developed a thick skin and cool demeanor in Indonesia where the children were at first really mean, and his mother taught him to not react. Little did she know that she was preparing him to deal with the likes of David and Rush Limbaugh.