THE NEW CASH COMMENTARY FOR NOV. 21, 2024

                                                                   CASH MICHAELS

BEHOLD, THE CLOWN CAR COMETH!

      by Cash Michaels

Now that we’ve all resigned ourselves to the fact that the next four years of the presidency are going to be eye-opening and jaw-dropping, to say the least, let’s prepare ourselves for some of the craziest crap ever.

In fact, if I read the Trump tea leaves correctly, buckle up for executive orders and off-the-wall directives coming down like stormwater, hurting the average American who never asked for them. You can expect a bunch of ridiculous laws from our new all-Republican Congress to go along with the incoming calamity and cockamamie governance.

And beyond the convicted criminal-in-chief and his MAGAbot minions in Congress, are his star-dudded cabinet appointments - some of the most off-the-wall bunch of backward personalities ever to be appointed to anything. A grand assortment of alleged criminals and MAGA-psychos who just wouldn't fit in where proper thinking and decency are the rule.

Let’s be clear, these people, whose names and reputations I will disturb you with in just a moment, weren’t chosen because they are the best available to serve the American people.

Perish the thought!

Trump chose them because they are the best available to serve him and screw with the status quo. That’s their only job in life from this point on, unless he fires some of them or they come to their senses, as in Trump’s previous administration, and they quit to save their sanities.

This from CNN:

Trump on the campaign trail made no secret of his plans if he won a second term. Many of his most committed supporters regard the federal government as a liberal deep state that has failed to respond to their needs. Trump, moreover, is still seething over the establishment’s attempts to rein him in during his first White House term. So selecting Cabinet picks who are seen as unqualified to lead their departments may be an attempt to deal a blow against the credibility of government in itself.

Maggie Haberman of the NY Times says Trump made these picks to “shock the system.” The Washington Examiner calls them his  “team of disruptors.” So you see, he’s already playing games with us.

Consequently, the very selection of these …uh…individuals, tells us Trump plans to strong-arm rule, unimpeded by common sense or established laws or protocols, from Day One.

These are all “yessir boss” people to the bone, and I defy anyone to find so much as a morsel of benefit from their selection for the nation.

Behold, the clown car cometh!

Let’s start with Republican former Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, nominated to serve as...egads... U.S. attorney general. What kind of U.S. attorney general remains to be seen.

Talk about someone even your average Republican detests. This is the same Matt Gaetz accused of allegedly having sexual relations with an underage child and trafficking her across state lines to do so, in addition to illegal drug usage. Gaetz was never charged with a crime, but was investigated by the House Ethics Committee, whose sealed report is now the hottest term paper in the nation Senators are demanding to see. 

         Call Gaetz the poster boy for monster dirt and mega slime.

What could Trump possibly see in this perverted boy wonder that’s worth fighting for?

Fact remains, Trump always wanted another Roy Cohn - someone nasty, dirty, and snake-like to do his bidding, especially when it comes to going after his political enemies.

This from The Washington Examiner about Gaetz:

“We ought to have a full court press against this WEAPONIZED government that has been turned against our people,” Gaetz wrote on X before deleting the post mere hours before his nomination as attorney general was announced. “And if that means ABOLISHING every one of the three letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I’m ready to get going!”

Who better than a young fiend who loves hurting people for breakfast when given the power. Gaetz is reportedly having problems being guaranteed confirmation by the new GOP Senate, though there are signs of softening. Apparently he’s a bridge too far, a bridge that Trump is willing to fight for. Let’s break out the popcorn for this stand-off, assuming there will be one.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. - talk about cuckoo for Coco Puffs. RFK, Jr. is up for secretary of Health and Human Services, a prominent anti-vaxxer, to be put in charge of managing the nation’s vaccine supply, in addition to fluoridation in our water (he doesn’t believe it protects our teeth so he wants it removed) and is a firm believer that the nation should be drinking raw, non-pasteurized milk.

For the record, pasteurized milk and fluoridated water are two things we all have grown up with, and both have protected all of us and our families from disease. Yet this guy, in his infinite wisdom, wants to prove that he knows best, and do away with those, and most other daily protections in our food and water the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) signs off on.

For the record, RFK, Jr. also claims that a worm partially devoured his brain, and then died.

Poor worm gave his precious life to warn others.

And just in case you want assurances from Trump that our country will always be well defended and ready to protect us from attack from the Chinese, Iranians or Russians, you and your family can now rest easy. Trump has chosen Pete Hegseth, weekend anchor for “Fox and Friends,” to lead our armed forces as the new secretary of Defense.

        Gee, the weekend anchor. How did America get so lucky?

Hegseth, a veteran who serves in the Army National Guard, “earned” his nomination declaring that women have no business in combat, downplayed the involvement of military members in the January 6th U.S. Capitol attacks, and allegedly has a tattoo on his bicep that’s associated with white supremacist groups, along with a lot of other arch-conservative crapola. Ironically, Petey was also accused of sexual assault in 2017 in a case where he reportedly paid the alleged victim to be quiet. Of course, he denies the accusation.

Boy, Trump can sure pick ‘em, eh?

Some of Trump’s other Cabinet-level picks are also knee-slapping..

Former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a cultist reported to be a Russian sympathizer, nominated for Director of National Intelligence; Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and TV huckster for whatever makes him a buck, for ambassador to Israel; Stephen Miller, known for his racist mantra about Muslims and other immigrants, now deputy chief of staff for policy; Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, said to be world’s richest man and co-founder of Tesla Motors and Space X, along with the former Republican presidential candidate who endorsed Trump, both heading up the new Dept. of Government Efficiency (boy, get ready to see some important government agencies like Education get the axe); and Kristi Noem, current governor of South Dakota, become secretary of Homeland Security. 

           Noem is infamously known for not instituting Covid protocols in her state during the height of the pandemic, and fatally shooting her happy-go-lucky puppy, Cricket, because "...in politics and life, she was willing to do what was “difficult, messy, and ugly” if it was necessary."

            Exactly where does Trump find these unhinged people? Who the hell protects us from her?

Of course it wouldn’t be a full clown car without Sen. Marco Rubio. With the exception of Lindsay Graham, no politician is as two-faced as "Little Marco," and he’s supposed to be our secretary of State. I understand he has the foreign affairs experience, but can we trust a man who would sell his mother on a whim?

        And BREAKING NEWS - Trump enjoyed wacko Dr. Oz so much on TV, he now wants to see this crackpot who couldn't get the Covid pandemic right, in charge of Medicaid and Medicare management. To improve care? Heaven to Betsy no! To cut costs! 

        Any other TV nuts I'm missing from the list?

There are other names that have been proposed to serve in the Trump Administration, but the bottomline is these people aren’t simply serving us, they’re proudly serving a known convicted criminal. That tells me there isn’t anything they wouldn’t do serving him in their respective capacities.

Now some of these novel winners are supposed to go through Senate confirmation, but Trump doesn’t want that. He wants recess appointments so he gets what he wants, how he wants it. Chris Hayes of MSNBC says it’s “a humiliation exercise,” a way to prove that Trump can dominate the new Republican Senate at his will. Make 'em heel!

I’m shocked that professional white supremacist, Tucker Carlson, hasn’t grabbed a spot in the Trump Administration yet. Lord knows he’d make an excellent Trump court jester, especially for someone who isn’t really funny at all.

So we have this, plus we’re all waiting with baited breath for the formal unveiling of Project 2025, and how that will totally screwup American life.

        And let me get something straight here and now...Yes, I'm an opinion journalist too, but

but NO, I don't agree with having a "conversation" with evil, I don't care if he is the criminal

-in-chief. I'm not Joe and Mika, so I don't worry about ratings here. I'm worried about tell-

ing the TRUTH as I see it at all times! I believe in having conversations of understanding

with people who share a common value for decency and respect. Then, I can either disagree

or agree, but still trust them. That's the world we once had, but have unfortunately lost now.

          Get that world back for me, where there is a common reverence for the rule of law, for democracy and TRUTH. Get that world back for me, where I can trust the people running my government are serving the nation and our democracy via their oath of office, not the whims of a wannabe king. 

         Besides, our criminal-in-chief lies too damn much for me. Not worth my time.

         Please get my United States of America back, warts and all, before I'm asked to "talk" with anyone who would just as soon destroy it all, just to satisfy their sadistic God complex!

         There's no talking to anyone who would just as soon put a knife in your back!

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THE CASH STUFF FOR NOV. 21, 2024

NC ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE 

PROBING ALLEGATIONS IN SUIT 

AGAINST ST. AUG’S TRUSTEE BOARD

By Cash Michaels

One day after a judge dismissed the lawsuit against the St. Augustine’s University (SAU) Trustee Board which alleged board members were mismanaging school finances, the state Attorney General’s Office says it wants to look into those allegations to see if there were any violations of state law.

In a ruling issued on November 14th, Wake Superior Court Judge Becky Holt dismissed the lawsuit brought by the Save SAU Coalition against the small Episcopalian HBCU, seeking to replace the current trustee board because, she said, the group did not have standing.

Save SAU Coalition is comprised of students, alumni, parents and at least two former SAU Trustee Board members, but according to Holt, state law prevents the group from taking any legal action against the board because of the school’s nonprofit status. 

The group’s lawsuit, filed last May 31st, alleged fiscal mismanagement and sought the board’s removal. It specifically targeted Board Chairman Brian Boulware, among others,  charging that he pocketed the brokerage fee paid by the school on a $7 million loan, in addition allowing wire transfers involving hundreds of thousands of dollars without any paperwork, and through these actions, literally brought SAU to the brink of closure.

The SAU Board of Trustees issued a statement, saying that “…it appreciated the court’s decision to dismiss the baseless lawsuit filed by the Save SAU Coalition.”

"We respect and value the judicial process, and we are grateful that the court has recognized our commitment to operating within the bounds of the law and prioritizing the best interests of our institution and its stakeholders,” the SAU Trustee Board statement concluded.

Former SAU Trustee board member John Larkin told reporters after the ruling, “This was a situation where it was decided on a technicality on statutes and not necessarily on the merits.”

He vowed to keep trying to replace the board, based on the allegation of breach of fiduciary duty.

Apparently the state Attorney General’s Office believes the Save SAU Coalition allegations are worthy enough to investigate.

The day after Judge Holt’s ruling came down, a spokesperson for Atty. General Josh Stein said his office is “concerned,” and “…is looking into those allegations further.” 

The SAU Trustee Board said it “welcomes” the state attorney general office probe.

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HOW TRUMP’S PROJECT 2025 

NOW AFFECTS NORTH CAROLINA

By Cash Michaels

Contributing weiter

During the presidential election, we heard a lot about Project 2025, a so-called conservative policy blueprint for the administration of Republican former Pres. Donald Trump once he was reelected to the White House.

The over 900-page authoritarian plan became such a major headline during the campaign, that Trump had to distance himself from the negative press it was garnering in order to win the election, despite the fact that at least 140 people connected to Trump had a hand in devising it. 

But soon after his victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump embraced Project 2025 as he began shaping the direction his administration would be going.

So what’s in Project 2025 specifically, and how does it directly affect North Carolina, and ultimately, African-Americans?

FEDERAL JOBS - Project 2025 calls for the dismantling of a number of federal agencies, in addition to the reclassification of thousands federal workers as political appointees so that they can be terminated by President Trump once he officially takes office. According to the Congressional Research Service, there are over 47,000 federal employees living and working in North Carolina, many of them Black.

EDUCATION - Project 2025 calls for the elimination of the U.S. Dept. of Education. Such a move would severely impact federal funding of public school funding in North Carolina, especially with the elimination Title I, the federal program that aids public school systems with large low-income student populations. In North Carolina, at least half of the state’s approximately 2,500 public schools would lose Title I funding, and with it, the supportive programs to help low-wealth students. Over 6400 teaching positions will be eliminated, impacting almost 99,000 students across the state.

HEALTH CARE - When implemented, Project 2025 would impose drastic changes to Medicaid that would severely impact the lives of at least 900,000 North Carolinians, like targeted time limits and lifetime caps on benefits received during a Medicaid enrollee’s lifetime. It could also increase the price of prescription drugs for senior citizens on Medicare. Many would be at risk of losing coverage because they are low income, and can’t afford comparable coverage.

The federal government would also be barred from negotiating lower drug prices.

CHILD CARE - Project 2025 eliminates access to no-cost child care for almost 20,000 low-income children, otherwise known as Head Start. This will particularly impact thousands of children living in rural and urban communities, where the high cost of daily child care is already out of reach.

STUDENT LOANS - Say goodbye to IDRs (income driven repayment) plans. Instead, Project 2025 will mandate a singular program that will increase payments for all student borrowers, including those under the SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) Plan, costing student borrowers anywhere from $2,700 to $4, 100 annually.

SOCIAL SECURITY - Under Project 2025, Social Security will be cut by raising the retirement age for 73 percent of  North Carolinians from 67 to 69 years of age. That would cut benefits by $4,100, to just $8,900 after one year. A median-wage retiree would lose $46,000 to $100,000 over 10 years, according to two recent Republican Study Committee budget proposals.

TAXES - Look for the overall tax burden to shift from the wealthy to the middle class under Project 2025. A typical family of four in North Carolina would see a federal tax hike of $2, 713 a year. Meanwhile, wealthy North Carolinians with over $10 million in annual income would see, on average, an annual tax cut of $1.5 million

There are many other areas of American life that would drastically change under Project 2025, according to the plan. We also know that based on Trump’s proposed picks for Cabinet-level secretaries, he will have a strong group of loyalists to carry out his Project 2025 directives.

Readers are urged to pay close attention to what comes down from the incoming Trump Administration in the coming weeks and months before January 20, 2025, Inauguration Day.

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THE CASH STUFF FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH, 2024

 ONE OF THE RACIST TEXTS ALLEGED SENT TO AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN NORTH CAROLINA, AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY AFTER LAST WEEK'S ELECTION.

    BLACK NORTH CAROLINIANS

GET THREATENING POST-ELECTION

RACIST TEXT MESSAGES

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

On the day former President Donald Trump was officially declared winner of the 2024 presidential election, Black North Carolinians reportedly began receiving disturbing and racist text messages, telling them that they had been picked to work on a cotton plantation, and if they didn’t comply, they “…would be beaten for 15mins straight.”

The messages just didn’t target black North Carolinians. African-Americans across the country reported receiving the racist texts. According to USA Today and other national news outlets, Black college students in several states reported also receiving the texts, which informed them that they “ had been elected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.”

Even young Black children were targeted.

Some of the messages were claimed to have come from “a Trump supporter,” though authorities haven’t been able to pin down exactly who sent them, where they came from, or how many were sent.

They only know that the messages began to appear right after the re-election of Trump as president had occurred.

One Black North Carolinian who received the racist text, Tiffy Lattimore of Oxford, said she at first downplayed it because she felt it was “ignorant”and knew “it would never happen.” She then posted it to Facebook, only to discover afterwards that other Black people in other states and at her job had gotten it too.

"How did you get my number?" and "How did you know that I was African American?" Lattimore said were her biggest concerns.

The NC Attorney General’s Office says it is investigating, “…alongside federal and industry partners.”

In Fayetteville, Latasha Gillis said her teenage daughter also got one of the racist texts the day after the election, and expressed concern.

"I definitely think that the outcome of the election is where these messages are coming from," Gillis told USA Today.

Similar messages have been reported in South Carolina, Alabama, Ohio and other states. The FBI is heading the national probe.

The NAACP has denounced the texts.

Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate crimes across the nation, said in a statement that the racist text messages were "…a public spectacle of hatred and racism that makes a mockery of our civil rights history.”

Meanwhile in Durham, Durham police are probing a white nationalist sign displayed in the American Tobacco Campus (ATC) near downtown last Saturday.

The sign, posted by the “Patriot Front” reads “Strong families, strong nations,” with a link to the Patriot Front website. It has been removed.

Patriot Front is identified as a white nationalist hate group.

Reportedly, other banners from the group were witnessed by motorists along I-40 and hanging from the South Parking garage at the ATC.

Thus far, there is no indication of any direct connection between the white nationalist signs and the racist text messages. Some observers have surmised that the texts actually came from Russian or other international adversaries looking to cause racial division in the United States after a contentious presidential election.

If you, or someone you know, have received a racist text message as has been reported, authorities advise to contact your local law enforcement immediately.

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DEMOCRATIC TURNOUT IN NC

BEHIND 2020 ELECTION, SAY

POLITICAL OBSERVERS

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

As in the rest of the country on Election Day, here in North Carolina, Democratic voters were outgunned at the polls, with Democratic turnout ultimately less than expected in the end.

Add to that a better than expected turnout of Republicans, and that wrote the book on Election 2024 in the state.

With the hottest presidential election in years between Republican former Pres. Donald Trump and current Vice Pres. Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket, political observers expected a strong Democratic Party turnout statewide to help elect Harris be elected the first Black woman as president.

National and internal polling consistently reported that North Carolina, considered one of seven key battleground states, was a dead heat between Trump and Harris since shortly after she unexpectedly entered the race after President Biden dropped in July.

But with North Carolina’s 17 days of early voting came startling news - Republicans weren’t traditionally waiting until Election Day to cast their ballots, but in fact, were early voting in large numbers before Election Day.

In fact, of the over 4.2 million early voters statewide, Republicans were first, followed by unaffiliated voters, and then Democrats in numbers.

At the end of Election Day, the picture became ever clearer. 

Even though Trump beat Joe Biden in 2020 to win the state, he only defeated the Democrat then by less than 75,000 votes, or 1.3%. But when the race between Trump and Harris was called by the Associated Press at 11:18 p.m, Trump won with 2.8 percent of the vote.

Trump had won in some counties that Biden took in 2020. Harris won in traditional so-called “blue” counties like Wake and Mecklenburg, but not by as much as Biden.

In Mecklenburg, for instance,voter turnout was only 69%, compared to 72% in 2020. Mecklenburg is also home to most of the state’s black voters. But per early voting, only 51% turned out.

Veteran political analyst Stella Adams warned that urban counties like Durham, Orange and Mecklenburg needed strong turnouts, because their voters were “pure” progressives.

Another veteran political analyst, Thomas Mills, projected that the state needed at least 300,000 more Black voters to cast ballots for Harris on Election Day. Exit polling showed the majority of Black voters did support her here, and nationwide.

But not to the level needed, and Trump defeated Harris in North Carolina 50.94% to 47.57%, thus winning the state’s 16 Electoral College votes.

This is the third straight presidential election where Donald Trump has won North Carolina.

In fact, there is strong evidence that many North Carolinians overall split their ticket, voting for Republican Trump, but then voting for Democrat Josh Stein for governor over controversial Republican Mark Robinson. State voters also supported most of the Democratic top tier candidates in Rachel Hunt for lt. governor, Jeff Jackson for state atty. general, and former Guilford County Schools Supt. Maurice “Mo” Green for state  supt. of Public Instruction.

Incumbent Democrat State Auditor Jessica Holmes lost her second bid to be elected to statewide office after being appointed to the post by outgoing Gov. Roy Cooper in December 2023.

North Carolina voters also gave Gov.-elect Stein more veto power over bills he doesn’t like by breaking up the Republican supermajority in the NC House.

Voters in the First Congressional District also voted to retain incumbent Democratic Congressman Don Davis, as did 12th District incumbent Democrat Congresswoman Alma Adams, and Fourth District U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee.

All three Black congresspeople will be returning to a U.S. House of Representatives that is likely to remain in the hands of a Republican majority, as will the U.S. Senate, giving Republican Pres. Donald Trump the Congress he needs to fully carry out his agenda.

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