THE CASH COMMENTARY FOR DEC. 4TH, 2025

                                                                CASH MICHAELS

       

                                                  SICK OBSESSION

    by Cash Michaels

You may not agree with me, but I see Trump’s chronic obsession with blaming former President Joe Biden for everything as a big problem. Especially for Trump's failures.

Trump has proven to be good for that. Becoming so dismissive and hateful towards other well-known and beloved Americans who have so refused to bend the knee to him that he loses total perspective of his own place in history, thus becoming an extremely petty, cheap and sad individual who just happens to be the 47th president of the United States.

Think about it. Trump has been industrial-strength ugly towards Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, female members of the legitimate press (as opposed to the right-wing organizations like Breitbart and Fox), James Comey, Letitia James, and I’m sure there are others he’d like to see thrown in prison just because they represent everything he’s not, nor ever will be.

Trump feels an important feature of his power is being able to belittle those he needs to feel superior to - namely undocumented immigrants, Democrats, black people, judges who rule against him, poor people on SNAP, non-military “Democrat” federal employees, and others.

But arguably, there is no one Trump is more obsessed with belittling than his immediate predecessor, the only man who ever beat him for the presidency, and had the gall to brag about it, Joe Biden.

Never before in our history has a current president gone out of his way to castigate a previous commander-in-chief to this degree. Customary respect for the office usually meant that petty bullcrap just wasn’t done.

Many of us will never forget how Trump tried to erase every accomplishment of President Barack Obama as soon as he got into office during his first term. But Trump’s jealousy with Obama’s legacy began long before he was ever elected when he fraudulently insisted that Obama was not even born here, thus wasn’t a citizen. It took President Obama dismissively calling Trump a "carnival barker" from the White House to make Trump stop the nonsense.

Today, however, 16 years after the fact, Trump continues his obsession with diminishing Obama, by trying to destroy Obama’s signature achievement - the Affordable Care Act. He’s also accused the nation’s first black president with trying to frame him for allegedly working with Russia to win the 2016 election. Recently, Trump sent out an A.I. video online of Obama being brought to his knees in the Oval Office by FBI agents, handcuffed and arrested, later seen wearing an orange jumpsuit behind bars.

Like I said - sick obsession. But Trump's preoccupation with Joe Biden is even sicker.

Now, since Trump’s January 20th inauguration for his second term, the New York Times has reported that Trump derides Joe Biden’s name at least six times a day. 

Psychologically, Biden beat Trump so bad in 2020 that DJT couldn’t even admit it publicly for several years after. Wouldn’t allow any other Republican who wanted to stay in office to admit it publicly, either.

And on January 6, 2021, Trump was even willing to break the law and have lives lost when he led the tragic and historically disgraceful insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in an effort to stop the official congressional certification of Joe Biden winning the 2020 presidential election. 

One Capitol police officer officially died in the line of duty, while four others later committed suicide because of that attack. One Trump supporter was fatally shot by an officer after she broke into the Capitol with a MAGA mob and tried to violently trespass into a restricted area to reach House members, who had taken cover.

Approximately 140 police officers with both the U.S. Capitol and local Washington, D.C. Metro forces were reported injured.

Plus, the rioters were willing to kill Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, on sight, because he refused to fraudulently declare Trump the winner of the 2020 election. Pence had to be whisked away to hiding in the Capitol by the Secret Service for his safety.

The January 6th, 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection is prime example of just how far Donald Trump is willing to go when he knows that he’s been beaten, and by who.

And that’s why his obsession with Joe Biden is a big problem. It’s such a compulsion that even if, GOD forbid, former President Biden were to pass on right this minute, it wouldn’t make any difference to Trump. He would continue to hate that man, because, in Trump's mind, he didn’t destroy him enough.

Again, this is all because of losing to Biden in 2020. Trump wants to totally destroy him, and he wants the world to know that he was the one to do it.

That’s part of the reason why, even though Biden has long left the public stage, Trump continues to bring him up literally every day when something goes wrong in his administration. It’s like if Joe Biden was a marble statue, and Trump could gleefully yank out his golden hammer and knock chunks off every day until there’s nothing left. He once asked a campaign rally whether he should refer to Biden as “Sleepy Joe or Crooked Joe?”

Sick obsession, especially when it’s being displayed by the most powerful man in the world.

Not the smartest, nor the wisest, nor the most beloved, but the most powerful. Under the wrong circumstances, this obsession with Biden is a big problem for the nation because it provides a convenient excuse for public policy gone wrong, for not taking responsibility, like for the tremendous strain Trump's tariffs are putting on the American economy right now.

For the record, Pres. Biden, if ever, rarely called Trump by name, preferring to just refer to him as “the other guy.” He's remained classy.

When Trump addressed a joint session of Congress last March, he sullied Biden’s name six times, calling him at one point “the worst president in American history.”

Apparently, Trump wasn’t rehearsing in front of a mirror when he got to that part of his speech.

  He also accused the Democratic president of “weaponizing government,” citing various criminal investigations mounted against him by the Biden Justice Dept. to keep him from being re-elected.

Gee, sounds like Joe Biden was just doing his job trying to keep a convicted felon and sexual abuser out of office. What did Trump want - a parade?

And Trump even had the gall to blame Biden for the rise of the high  price of eggs at the time, promising to have a better handle on the economy.

Here it is almost Christmas, and we all see how that damn lie has worked out.

Just last week, Trump ordered virtually all of Biden’s executive orders he says were signed by autopen cancelled, alleging Biden’s staff was covering up for the fact that Biden was mentally incapacitated while in office. 

Biden has denied the charge.

In Trump’s mind, it could be already be 2028, he could be one foot out of office, and he’d still be blaming Biden for stuff, like the vetting and admitting of an Afghan national into the country in 2021, who later shot two National Guard service members patrolling Washington, D.C. the day before Thanksgiving, killing one.

“It’s Joe Biden’s fault. Biden let him into the country!” Trump opined, as if people were lining up to blame somebody for the tragedy. Biden’s porous immigration policy was always a favorite Trump target.

True, the Afghan national suspect, currently in custody, was part of a Biden Administration program called “Operation Allies Welcome” to allow Afghans who worked side-by-side with the CIA against the Taliban into the country, but the Trump Administration actually gave the suspect asylum just last April, and there's evidence he was only recently radicalized, records reportedly show. Trump wants us to forget about that completely, and blame the terrorist actions of this Afghan national purely and solely on Biden.

No, what we all should be doing is collectively mourning the death of one National Guard member, and praying for the full recovery of the other, who was critically injured. Placing political blame right now is purely a Trumpian move, devoid of any humanity or common sense or decency.

But that’s what he wants. The most powerful man in the world is so weak in true character, so absent of any common decency, that any apparent (to him) chink in his perceived armor must always be assigned to somebody else.

Joe Biden.

        A leader who cannot, or will not, take responsibility or be held accountable for what goes wrong on his watch is a walking, talking failure.

        That's Donald Trump!

Blaming Biden makes Trump feel better, escape responsibility, and help destroy the legacy of a decent man of integrity. History will reflect that Joe Biden was a good president. 

         Not a great one, but a good one!

         Certainly better than Donald Trump, who would lose his mind if that honest assessment and comparison was widely held.

This is the sickness of his obsession.

This is the sickness of Donald Trump we're stuck with until 2028.

May GOD help us!

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THE CASH STUFF FOR DEC.4, 2025

 

                                                      FORMER NC REP. CECIL BROCKMAN

 BROCKMAN BLAMES ALLEGED

VICTIM FOR HIS “RUINED” LIFE

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

In an extremely emotional five-paragraph handwritten letter addressing charges that he allegedly sexually abused a 15-year-old male teenager last summer, Cecil Brockman, former six-term Democratic NC House member from High Point wrote, “My life has already been ruined. The career and legacy that I have work (sic) so hard for, always trying to do the right thing taken in a instant because someone lied to me.”

In the November 4th missive, written prior to being released from jail on bail to the restricted custody of his mother, Brockman, 41, opined about the coming legal trials and tribulations he will soon be facing after being arrested in October on two counts of statutory rape, and two counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor under the age of 16.

“Why should I pay the ultimate price because someone wanted to grow up too fast? Why should I bare (sic) the entirety of consequence for another person’s lie?” Brockman rhetorically asked, before ultimately blaming the minor child he was allegedly involved with for most of his legal troubles.

“I keep trying to think of the red flags,” Brockman, who served in the NC House since 2015, wrote. “How I could have possibly known or figured it out. His father knew he was staying with me, a 41 year-old man and said nothing. When he came to me to stay with me in NC,  his father knew and said nothing. He didn’t have or do any schoolwork. His best friend lived in another state with her boyfriend. He told me he was a legally consenting age and he looked the age he claimed. He was 6’1 muscular. And we met on an adult dating app.”

“I have paid severely for his dishonesty,” the former state house member continued. “I will never be the same.”

As if to cry for mercy, Brockman then relates how, if he is convicted, the punishment will be hard not just on him, but his family.

“My grandfather, the only one I have left, is in his 80’s. My mother, aunts and uncles are all in there (sic) mid 60s. I want to be there for them and spend as much time with them as possible. I spent all of my 30’s in public service. The thought of spending the rest of my life or 12 years in prison is unimaginable. Especially when I was the one that was lied to.”

Finally, Brockman shares how tough the whole legal ordeal has been for him so far.

“This amount of cruelty is unbarable (sic). I keep waking up and it’s a reality that I cannot change. I am so devastated, constantly hurt and sad. I do not know what to do. Praying God loves me and heals me.”

According to electronic evidence presented in court by Guilford County District Attorney Avery Crump, Brockman met the alleged juvenile victim by a dating app online last May, right before the alleged minor victim turned 15 the following month in June.

Brockman allegedly went to Atlanta to live with the minor, and both then moved to High Point in August.

The alleged relationship was unknown until, on October 5th, Brockman reportedly called 911 saying that the teenager had gone missing, and he was trying to track the child via a tracking app known as Life360. The Davidson County Sheriff’s Dept. initially responded, but eventually contacted the High Point Police, which ultimately got the SBI involved because Brockman was a state representative.

It was after the alleged juvenile victim was finally located, and the teen’s cellphone was recovered and examined, that 14 sexually explicit videos of “certain acts” allegedly involving  Brockman, were discovered.

The alleged acts were reportedly from August 15th, according to arrest warrants.

Brockman was arrested on October 8th. The investigation is ongoing, with additional charges possible, according to D.A. Crump.

Since then, the Guilford County Democratic Party has voted to appoint a High Point city councilwoman to fill out the rest of Brockman’s term in office. This happened after Brockman resigned in writing, amid calls from top Democrats, including Gov. Josh Stein, to do so.

The resignation also took place hours after Republican House Speaker Destin Hall announced that he had selected House members for a bi-partisan committee assigned to examine the charges against Brockman, and recommend his removal if warranted.

Brockman is next expected in court is January 16.

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FEDERAL COURT RULES

REDRAWN FIRST DISTRICT

GOOD FOR 2026 MIDTERM

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

A federal three-judge panel - all of whom chosen by Republican presidents - has granted NC Republican legislative leaders their redrawn First Congressional District for the 2026 midterm elections, denying a preliminary injunction from the NC NAACP, Common Cause NC and other plaintiffs, to stop it.

“Because Plaintiffs at this point in the litigation have not made a clear showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits of any claim advanced in their motions, a preliminary injunction is unwarranted,” the judges ruled.

This means that the new GOP-leaning First District- currently represented by moderate Democratic Congressman Don Davis - will likely vote Republican next year, giving President Trump at least a one extra Congressional seat advantage he can count on to get his agenda through the U.S. House in 2026 through 2028. The Republican-led NC General Assembly redrew the First District in October.

Candidate filing for the 2026 midterm elections began Monday in North Carolina.

        Congressman Davis says he will still run for reelection in the First District.

Republican state Senate leader Phil Berger was happy with the court victory.

“As Democrat-run states like California do everything in their power to undermine President Trump’s administration and agenda, North Carolina Republicans went to work to protect the America First Agenda,” Berger said in a statement. “North Carolinians voted to send President Trump to the White House in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and this new map reflects that support.”

There is still a question about the five Republican-leaning seats Texas had redrawn for the Republican president that were constitutionally struck down recently, as well as five redrawn seats California passed last month by Democratic voters to counter Texas prior to that court ruling.

Texas is appealing to have those five congressional districts restored. Meanwhile Republicans are challenging California’s new five districts, claiming that they are racial gerrymanders.

Meanwhile here in North Carolina, the Republican federal three-judge panel ruled the day before Thanksgiving in a 57-page order that arguments against the newly drawn First Congressional District by the NC NAACP, Common Cause NC, and plaintiffs from the affected First and Third Districts were not enough to strike the newly drawn First District down.

Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause NC, was not pleased.

“This ruling gives blessing to what will be the most gerrymandered congressional map in state history, a map that intentionally retaliates against voters in eastern North Carolina for supporting a candidate not preferred by the majority party,” Phillips said. “I believe the lawmakers responsible for the map and for this misguided ruling know they are wrong and will be judged accordingly. Meanwhile, our fight for fair maps continues, and our fight for voters living in these distorted districts will carry on, with more energy than ever. Ultimately, we the people will prevail.” 

The plaintiffs had argued that the Republican-drawn voting map was a retaliation against voters in the previous First District for re-electing a Democrat to represent them in Congress in 2024. The NC NAACP and Common Cause NC, along with several other plaintiffs, also argued that redrawing the First District encroached on the historic “Black Belt” counties in the northeastern part of the state, thus denying black voter their choice of congressional representative as guaranteed by the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The three-judge panel didn’t agree, however. 

Instead, the court ruled that plaintiffs’ argument raised political questions “beyond the reach of the courts.”

The NC NACCP has vowed to appeal the ruling, most likely to the conservative-led U.S. Supreme Court.

“We must continue this fight,” said Deborah Dicks Maxwell, president of the NC NAACP. “And we will take it wherever we can. Because people deserve their constitutional rights.”

"Enough is enough," Maxwell continued. "This is the swift urgency of now that we must continue to fight for the rights of people to be represented by people who want to represent them. Not just have their name where they can go and vote for someone who is threatening them that we need to have another congressional district."

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THE CASH COMMENTARY FOR THANKSGIVING

                                                                    CASH MICHAELS

                IN THE FACE OF TYRANNY

                             by Cash Michaels

   

It is our deepest, most cherished tradition.

And there’s no  “perhaps” about it!

Opening our shores, and our borders, to those who seek a land, a home, of freedom, future and opportunity. For those willing to work hard and sacrifice, the promise of being allowed to do so as long as they understand that in exchange, they're expected to contribute to this glorious idea that for almost 250 years now, we’ve proudly called "America."

        When the pilgrims fled England in the early 16oo’s, it wasn’t just to escape religious persecution, as has been popularly thought, but to seek economic security. They were poor, and desperately needed to find a place they could start life anew to grow their families, start farms and businesses, and build communities.

The pilgrims of Thanksgiving legend needed to find a "new world."

Today, according to USA Facts, in 2021, 42% of people legally immigrating to the US came for work (economic security), 32% came for school, and 23% for family.

For illegal immigration to the US, immigration attorneys say the top reasons are economic opportunities, escaping political instability and violence, and family reunification.

        No matter what the century, the reasons for coming to this country, this new world, have not changed!

         And like it or not, those reasons eventually built the America we have today.

As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said during his historic 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech, “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." 

It should be no surprise that for generations now, the world has heard Dr. King’s prolific words of America's promise of freedom, justice and opportunity, and taken them to heart. That’s why many have come here. We should be very proud of that!

        Let’s be clear, we hear a lot of right-wing rhetoric today about alleged "criminals" escaping from other countries, coming to our nation to cause trouble and concern, and yet, except in a few cases, overall statistically, that has proven NOT to be the case.

According to Sociology Professor Jennifer Van Hook of Pennsylvania State University, “Of the 51.3 million people living in the U.S. in 2023 who were born in another country, 49% were U.S. citizens. Another 19% were lawful permanent residents who could become naturalized citizens over time. And 5% were in the country on student, work, diplomatic or other temporary visas. The remaining 27% – about 13.7 million people – were undocumented.”

But accounting for various categories in that 27% of undocumented, “about 3% of the country's total population – or 9.7 million people, do not have legal permission to be in the U.S..”

Doesn’t mean that 9.7 million are all criminals, only that they need to either eventually become legal residents, or leave. It's only fair if they expect to share in the resources and rights that normally come with citizenship.

That choice can be offered without violence, brutality and unnecessary drama.

Now of course, as a nation, we must maintain and protect our borders to make sure that those who come in understand that with citizenship comes responsibility, and respect for our rule of law. And normally, as a nation, we handle that question with civility, and justice. We do so in marked contrast to the tyranny and injustice of other nations. That is what makes us proud to be Americans.

And we share that pride with our collective energy, vision, and commitment to make this country the best that it can be for ourselves, our families, and each another.

That’s why last week was an extremely painful one for those of us who truly care about what being, or becoming an American is all about. 

We turned on our television sets, and we saw human beings - men, women, and yes, children - living in fear across our state, frightfully running and hiding for their lives, even through the woods, from masked federal agents with weapons from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), chasing them for capture because, we’re told, they're “violent criminals” who don’t belong in our country.

Really? “Violent criminals?” Working at long established neighborhood businesses for years; raking the leaves from the front yards and streets of their churches, stores and homes; driving their vehicles to their places of employment; attending church and public school; taking their children to school; at home enjoying what they thought was the safety and sanctity of their property they purchased with their hard earned money; paying taxes, and I could go on.

Oh I don’t doubt that there are many undocumented immigrants in our communities here in North Carolina and elsewhere across the nation. But the disgraceful display of masked, armed, aggressive federal tyranny we all witnessed last week was anything but representative of the sacred rule of law we all cherish and covet.

        Wasn't very Christian-like either!

Hey masked  man! Yeah you, manhandling that defenseless Hispanic woman. What did she do? Why did you stop and handcuff her? Where’s your warrant to arrest her? You and those masked goons with you also manhandling her and throwing her into the back of that unmarked van, where are you taking her? When will she see a judge? Have you read her her rights? Will she get an appointed attorney? You know, our Constitution says she still has rights in this country whether she’s a citizen or not! Where did you say you’re taking her again? What the hell do you mean “Put down that phone?” Got news for you, Rambo… as long as you keep doing what you and your masked muscle men are doing out here in public, out in the open, I have the right to pull out my iPhone and capture it all so that folks can see their precious tax dollars at work!

        Funny how a little tyranny in the neighborhood brings out the patriotism in people.

On Saturday, my wife and I decided to have a meal at a New Mexican restaurant that just opened near us recently. When we pulled up to the front the door to walk in, we were unexpectedly greeted with a sign taped to the entrance:

STOP - NO ICE ACCESS IN THIS BUSINESS. PRIVATE PROPERTY ENTRY RESTRICTED BY LAW. NOTICE TO ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT & IMMIGRATION AGENTS…..

I mean this thing made you stop and read it thoroughly to make sure you weren’t doing anything wrong just standing there. 

The notice had lots of legalese in smaller print to read, but the part I really found interesting was one of the last lines that said:

IF YOU ATTEMPT TO ENTER THIS BUSINESS WITHOUT A VALID JUDICIAL WARRANT, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE.

IF YOU ENTER, YOU RE TRESPASSING, AND WE WILL SEEK LEGAL RECOURSE!

The damn thing was enough to make you lose your appetite! But you know what? It didn’t stop my wife and I from going inside, getting a nice table along with a lot of other Saturday afternoon customers, not only having a great meal in a clean and pleasant facility, but getting great food to go, and having pleasant conversations with our waitress and the manager, plus great service.

         It was a damn shame this Mexican-owned business had to post that notice to protect its workers and customers from tyranny.

But the whole experience also made me proud.

Proud of hundreds of fellow citizens who took to the streets in Charlotte, Raleigh, Cary and Durham last week to protest Trump administration tyranny and stand up for the rights of their neighbors who were being unjustly persecuted and hunted down like animals.

Proud of bold elected leaders like Gov. Josh Stein, Rep. Alma Adams, and the mayors of Raleigh, Cary and Durham who issued messages in defense of the rights of all citizens, urging calm and caution, but also making sure that people knew their rights in the face of tyranny.

Proud of our local and national media that covered not just the outrage of the masked, armed federal tyranny, but what churches and civic groups were doing to confront the threat.

Yes, in the midst of undeniable shame being perpetrated by our federal government, there was a lot to be proud of in how North Carolinians banded together the week before Thanksgiving to protect the rights of people who were being racially profiled just because they were Hispanic or looked different. Illegally picked up and detained in many cases, some were actually naturalized American citizens with spotless criminal records.

          An Apex landscaper showed his Real I.D. to the Border Patrol, and they still detained him!

           Some of those arrested, I’m sure, even served proudly in our military once, or have grown children who are doing so now.

But there was also crap I couldn’t ignore, like from Republican House Speaker Destin Hall, who told the News & Observer in an interview that he saw nothing wrong with the Border Patrol raid tactics to capture "violent criminals," and hoped “They will come back!”

MEMO TO SPEAKER HALL AND MAGA FOLKS LIKE HIM:

If, in fact we have so-called “violent criminals” in our midst, we’re supposed to have laws governing how we bring them to justice. That includes reading them their rights, and treating them humanely until they go before a court of law to face their charges.

This business of rounding human beings up like cattle and breaking up families must stop because it IS NOT THE AMERICAN WAY! It may be Trump’s way, but NOT ours!

Let’s say it plain here! ICE/Border Patrol agents have rounded up tens of thousands of people from here and across the country, supposedly “violent criminals,” and instead of taking them to court for the due process they're entitled to, have bound them up like animals, shaved their heads, and shipped them off to foreign prisons in other countries where they're beaten and abused. It’s no secret that the real goal here is to deport millions of undocumented immigrants from our country under the ruse of criminality.

        Oh I get it! Your boss hog Trump wants to get rid of as many as possible now so that they won’t be voting for Democrats in the future. And you think this is a winning strategy…!!!

That’s Trump’s mandate, and it’s a deep, deep stain on our democracy, and our established rule of law.

We know you’re coming back, Border Patrol, because you told us so. But when you do, if you truly want respect for the work you’re assigned to do, try doing it legally! With federal warrants, and advising those arrested of the rights they have. As those six Democratic congresspeople Trump threatened with death warned last week, if you’re in federal or military service, and you’re ordered to do something you KNOW is illegal, refuse to do it!

And you can start by taking those damn masks off your faces!  You carry guns, so what are you afraid of ?!!

For everybody else, I pray that you and your families have a safe, blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving holiday weekend, no matter where you or your family are originally from. Be thankful for the freedoms we, as Americans, have left while we have them, but please, pray for the future of our nation. 

And as for you masked agents of ICE, Border Patrol, along with NC House Speaker Destin Hall, and of course your boss hog Donald Trump, I “respectfully” have one thing to say to ALL of you in a language you turkeys best understand…GOBBLE, GOBBLE !!!

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