city official resigns over insensitive pearl harbor remark

Ah, the inappropriate Pearl Harbor joke. Some fool always thinks there's an appropriate time and place for it, and they're always wrong. Even better when it's coming from a city official: Hanford official resigns over remarks.

In Hanford, California, planning commissioner Jim Morgenthal has been forced to resign after making an insensitive remark at a public city council meeting on December 6, the day before Pearl Harbor Day.

The dumbass remark was directed at Hanford Sentinel reporter Eiji Yamashita, who is of Japanese descent:

"Merry Christmas," Morgenthal said, according to a Sentinel story filed last week by another reporter. "Tomorrow is Pearl Harbor Day. I've already informed Eiji he has to be on the lookout. I just wanted to give you some insights (chuckling) -- I've been an insurance agent for 40 years and (chuckling again) -- we don't have any other minorities here, so he's the one.

"Yamashita came to the United States in 1997, majored in journalism at California State University, Fresno, and has been at the Sentinel since 2001.

When he heard Morgenthal's remarks, Yamashita's thought was, "No doubt, he was only kidding."

Sure, he was kidding. You know, just indirectly encouraging retribution for the attack on Pearl Harbor by pointing out the lone Japanese guy in the room. You do know how to make a guy feel welcome, Jim. More here: Planning commissioner ousted for racial slurs.