American Morning
Congressman: Hate mail, Nazi graffiti follow health care protests
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) - A Georgia congressman said Wednesday he's received death threats and found Nazi graffiti outside his office in the aftermath of heated protests about health care reform.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/08/12/congressman.swastika/art.swastika.cnn.jpg caption="Rep. David Scott's staff found a swastika on a sign outside his district office in Georgia."]
David Scott, a Democrat from north-central Georgia, told CNN he has received several offensive faxes and letters, including some with death threats and racial abuse.
Scott is black. His district includes part of metro Atlanta.
The congressman showed CNN a cartoon of Barack Obama, depicting the president as a clown with a swastika on his head, which Scott said he had received in the mail.
Tuesday, his staff found a swastika painted over Scott's name on a sign outside his office.
"I was just simply appalled," he said.
"This symbol represents the most heinous period in world history, indicative of man's greatest inhumanity to man, where nearly 6 million Jewish people and others were murdered purposely by Adolf Hitler," Scott said. "So when you reach that point ... this is very, very dangerous."
Local police and the F.B.I. are investigating.
Scott said he believes the swastika and hate mail are a result of the acrimonious health care debate.
Lawmaker gets health care death threat
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/08/10/miller.brad.cnn.art.jpg caption="Rep. Brad Miller says he received a death threat over his support of health care reform."]
Some people in health care town hall meetings are mad as hell. Many are starting shouting matches, pushing to get in the doors.
Tempers and passions over health care reform are getting so heated one lawmaker got a death threat phoned into his office. It happened to Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC). He spoke to John Roberts on CNN’s “American Morning” Monday.
John Roberts: What was this death threat all about?
Brad Miller: It was last Monday. We’d gotten a lot of calls. I don't think that many offices have gotten fewer calls than we have. I think a lot of offices have gotten threats that were as specific and as credible as the one I got. A caller said that if I supported the health care plan, it could cost me my life.
My staff member who took the call was taken aback and asked them to repeat it and he did. And then he said, “Is that a threat?” And he said there are a lot of angry people. So it’s probably equivocal enough that it won't result in criminal prosecution. But you've seen what has happened in the last week or two. And then there's a lot that hasn't been publicized. Week before last, the Longworth building was shut down for hours because of a bomb threat. They have identified that person. That person probably will be criminally prosecuted.
Roberts: You've decided as a result of the rancor we've been seeing at these town hall meetings not to hold any? You’re going to have health care discussions over teleconference?
Miller: No. I have done a few town hall meetings. I think they are kind of an acquired taste. Most people want to have access to their member of Congress to talk about a specific issue and they really think a one-on-one meeting is more access than a town hall meeting and that's what I've done. So we were puzzled when we started getting calls in the last two weeks demanding a town hall meeting. And my staff would say, “Wouldn't you just like to sit and have a private conversation with the congressman, explain your position and ask him about his?” And they didn't want that. They wanted a town hall meeting. And I think we’ve seen why.
Harvard prof offers jokes about arrest
BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) - In his first public appearance since the "Beer Summit" at the White House, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates joked about his controversial arrest last month in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and said he likes police Sgt. James Crowley.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/08/03/art.beer.summit.afp.gi.jpg caption="Sgt. James Crowley and professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. sit for beers with the president and vice president Thursday."]
"I offered to get his kids into Harvard if he doesn't arrest me anymore," Gates said.
Gates was speaking Sunday at the Martha's Vineyard Book Festival where he signed copies of his book, "In Search of our Roots."
The professor said he plans on meeting with Crowley again. "I offered for the two of us to have lunch together, one-on-one, or go to a Red Sox game, or a Celtics games, or maybe the families can get together for dinner. Why not?"
Gates had a face-to-face meeting and a beer with Crowley at the White House last week, a move orchestrated by President Obama in an attempt to diffuse racial tensions that had erupted following Gates' arrest. Gates called the president's gesture "brilliant."
Crowley arrested Gates on July 16 when the officer responded to a call of a possible home break-in at the Cambridge residence.
Obama, Biden, professor, officer sit down over brews
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/07/30/art.beer.summit.afp.gi.jpg caption="Sgt. James Crowley and professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. sat down with the president and vice president Thursday."]
WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Obama sat down for a beer at the White House Thursday night with a top African-American professor and the police officer who arrested him earlier this month.
They were joined by a previously unannounced guest, Vice President Joe Biden.
Sgt. James Crowley and Henry Louis Gates Jr., both dressed in suits, sat down with Obama and Biden, who both had their white dress shirt sleeves rolled up.
Video from the meeting showed mugs of beer being delivered to the men, who sat at a round table at the edge of the White House's Rose Garden, munching peanuts and pretzels from silver bowls.
The president was drinking Bud Light, Biden was drinking Buckler (a nonalcoholic beer), Gates was drinking Samuel Adams Light and Crowley was drinking Blue Moon.
After the meeting, Crowley told reporters that the men had a "cordial and productive discussion," in which they agreed to move foward rather than dwell on past events.
He said he and Gates plan to meet again and will speak by telephone to finalize details in the coming days. Both men bring different perspectives, he said, but he would like to hear more about Gates' views.
"It was a private discussion. It was a frank discussion," Crowley said of the meeting, but would not divulge specifics except to say that no one apologized.
Gates was arrested July 16 and accused of disorderly conduct after police responded to a report of a possible burglary at his Boston-area home. The charge was later dropped. The incident sparked a debate about racial profiling and police procedures.
After the meeting, the renowned Harvard professor reflected on the significance of the event and thanked Obama for arranging the meeting.
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