CASH STUFF FOR MARCH 5, 2026

                                                 MASTER TROOPER STEVEN PERRY

SECOND BLACK NC

TROOPER KILLED 

IN LINE OF DUTY

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

For second time this year, and on successive Sundays, another Black NC Highway Patrol trooper has lost his life in the line of duty, this time in a collision with a wrong-way driver.

The NC Highway Patrol reports that Master Trooper Steven J. Perry, 30, was killed when a vehicle traveling the wrong way collided with his patrol cruiser on N.C. 147 near Swift Avenue in Durham approximately before 3 a.m. Sunday morning.

The other driver, identified as Melshawn Moore, 39 of Kinston, was also killed in the accident. There were no other passengers involved in either vehicle.

Authorities say Moore may have been impaired, and has a record of impairment. The investigation is ongoing.

The debris field was so extensive, the NCSHP said,  both lanes of the highway in the immediate area had to be closed down and not reopened until 12 noon.

"Trooper Perry was a member of the 148th Basic Patrol School and has served Durham County throughout his nearly 7-year career," the “State Highway Patrol said in a statement. ‘During this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and fellow troopers who had the privilege of serving alongside him. We ask that you keep the entirety of his family and our Patrol Family in your thoughts."

Gov. Josh Stein added his condolences.

"Master Trooper Steven Perry dedicated his career to keeping people in Durham County safe. Please join me in keeping his loved ones and the law enforcement community in our thoughts and prayers. May his memory be a blessing."

        Beyond the obvious tragedies is the fact that two NC state troopers, both African-American, trying to keep all North Carolinians safe on the highways, lost their lives in on-duty collisions on successive weekends.

During the early morning hours of February 22nd, Master Trooper Stien Davis, Jr., assigned to Troop B, District 7 in Robeson County, was killed in a single-vehicle collision shortly after midnight, according to the NC Highway Patrol. Reportedly, he was on duty, traveling in his patrol vehicle on N.C. Highway 130 in Robeson County when he apparently lost control of his cruiser, veered off the roadway and overturned in a swampy area.

         A funeral service as held for Master Trooper Davis Wednesday at Robeson Community College.

Master Troopers Davis and Perry were the 73rd and 74th NC Highway Patrol troopers to die in the line of duty since the founding of the agency in 1929. The NCSHP employs 1600 state troopers that patrol 80,000 miles of NC highways.

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                                                                 REP. ALMA ADAMS

                                                               REP. VALERIE FOUSHEE

                                                                     REP. DON DAVIS

NC’S THREE BLACK

DEMOCRATIC MEMBERS

OF CONGRESS WEIGH-IN

ON IRAN WAR

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

In the aftermath of President Trump’s attack on Iran last Saturday morning, which many observers fear may lead to a wider conflict across the Middle East and an eventual US boots on the ground to stabilize the country, the three Black Democratic members of the North Carolina delegation have joined their colleagues in speaking out on the crisis.

Rep. Alma Adams (D-12-1) of Charlotte/Mecklenburg issued a statement saying, “The President has chosen to forgo diplomacy and has placed American troops under threat. I pray for their safety and the safety of all civilians in this conflict. 

“The Iranian government’s violations of human rights and nuclear ambitions must be addressed. However, without clear and pressing need, the President must seek authorization from Congress before launching any use of military force that could constitute an act of war,' Adams continued.

“Congress must exercise its constitutional authority, and I am calling on Speaker Johnson to call the House of Representatives back to Washington immediately.”

Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC-4) echoed Rep. Adams’ concern about the president’s unilateral actions toward Iran.

“I will go on record right now: I do not support Trump’s illegal war with Iran and will do everything I can in Congress to support War Powers Resolutions to stop it,” Foushee wrote on X (formally Twitter). “The American people are tired of endless wars and we cannot put our service members at risk —period. The president’s strikes are completely illegal and are plunging us into a senseless regime-change war over oil. He needs to be held accountable. Lives are at stake.”

Rep. Foushee’s reference to a War Powers Resolution was to the law that states only Congress can declare war on other countries, not the president.

Rep. Don Davis (D-NC-1), who faces a tough reelection battle in November to keep his seat after the NC General Assembly redrew his district to lean more Republican in the fall general election, did not follow colleagues Adams and Foushee in condemning the U.S. attack on Iran. Instead, Davis voiced his continued support for the fight against terrorism.

“The world must speak with a unified voice against terror and proliferation, and Congress kept informed for oversight. We need to stand together to bring an end to terrorism and human rights violations,” Rep. Davis said. “A regime that supports terror, destabilizes its neighbors, and aims to destroy other nations can’t be trusted. Global instability, fueled by extremist proxies, threatens the safety of American citizens and our allies.” 

Rep, Deborah Ross (D-NC-2) however, agreed with her two Black NC colleagues that Pres. Trump’s attack on Iran “…is unwarranted and unconstitutional.”

The nine Republican members of the North Carolina delegation, including the state’s two Republican US senators, supported Pres. Trump's actions.

At press time, at least four members of the US military had been killed in the attacks.

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THE CASH COMMENTARY FOR FEB. 26TH

                                                                   CASH MICHAELS

CHRONIC BRUISED EGO

by Cash Michaels

It must be tough being Donald Trump.

Everyday you tell the world that you’re the greatest thing ever to happen to it, almost daring anyone to come knock you off your far-flung, delusional pedestal. And then, when it rightfully happens, you curse them, their families and the world for not realizing the cardinal sin they’ve just committed.

We saw a considerable display of this chronic personality disorder Tuesday night during the longest State of the Union (SOTU) address (one hour 48 minutes) in history. But first, let’s assess Trump’s gut reaction to feeling betrayed when what is essentially his U.S. Supreme Court screwed him and his illegal global tariffs last week, as three conservative justices - led by Chief Justice John Roberts - joined with the three liberal court minority members to strike down Trump’s illegal tariffs spree on other countries.

“Illegal” because Trump knew he was breaking the law, but did it anyway.

The very idea that anyone with any authority would dare to tell Donald John Trump, president-esquire, what he can and cannot do, is outrageous, he believes. His very existence means he can do any damn thing that he wants, because after all, HE is the law, and will be until the day he dies, he preaches. 

Chronic bruised ego beyond repair.

The only other outrage Trump is still personally, publicly and mentally litigating is losing the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. It’s something Trump just can’t admit. 

And now the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court - three of it’s members he nominated, only to have two of them take his precious imaginary tariffs powers away - has turned on him, at least for this decision.

But Trump isn’t waiting for the next time. He gave these otherwise locked step right-wing jurists a piece of his fractured, hate-filled mind, calling them a “disgrace to the nation” as well as “fools” and “lapdogs.” He also strongly alleged that they were under some foreign influence, and that their families were “ashamed” of them for this “very unfortunate ruling.”

Telling an ego-bruised Donald Trump that he is not allowed to do whatever he wants is tantamount to telling him to do it anyway, evidenced by his subsequent hissy fit to impose new 15% global tariffs, and not even consider giving any of the initial illegal tariffs revenue back.

A country and world are supposed to be built on negotiation, compromise and following civilized rules. Rules are established to maintain good order, and promote mutual trust and understanding. But not to Donald Trump.

Trump believes that rules are for suckers, unless they are his rules, rules to deliver him maximum benefit and advantage.

In Trump’s case, his rules are encased in a particular brand of viciousness and absolutism that licenses him to seek to destroy those who won’t follow his dictates, especially on things he considers vitally important to him.

That’s why he spewed such hateful smack about the Supreme Court after the one time it decided it would do its job and not give him what he so desperately craves - more power. And it’s the same reason he was in full of venom mode towards Democrats during the SOTU. Because he knows their full-time job is to stop him.

Having natural adversaries is vital to Trump, gets the “I want more power” juices flowing in him. The world got a taste of his disgraceful behavior Tuesday night during the State of the Union. 

Normally the SOTU is a stage from which the president from a particular political party gives a status report as to how the nation is progressing in key areas of interest, and should continue to work together to improve its overall quality of life. 

MS NOW called Trump’s status report “disturbingly macabre,” maybe because it contained so many lies and so much vitriol. Let’s take a look at some of what happened and was said Tuesday night -

-  Texas Democrat Al Green, who was censured for protesting after Trump’s last SOTU address, was immediately escorted out after protesting Trump again while the president spoke and Republicans chanted “USA, USA.”

-  former President Joe Biden was falsely blamed often for everything bad, even though Trump has been back in office now for over a year.

-  Democrats were chastised for not voting for Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.”

-  Trump falsely accused Democrats of causing the affordability crisis

-  Trump falsely accused Democrats of supporting “illegal aliens”

-  Trump told Democrats “You should be ashamed of yourselves!”

-  Trump charged that Democrats would reopen the borders

-  Trump falsely accused previous presidents of being ‘all talk but no action on regulating prescription drugs

-  Trump falsely accused Democrats of “destroying the country”

Most people would say that Trump’s unhealthy penchant for creating division and hate is bad for this country, and doesn’t represent who we really are as a union.

But Trump doesn’t care about that. He just wants to profess that America is now a better place to live as long as he’s still living, breathing and leading. What did he say Tuesday night - that this was “the golden age of America” and that the State of the Union is “strong?” Sure, if you’re one of his billionaire buddies. Things are going gangbusters for them.

But for the average American just trying to scrape by for their family, the only thing Trump believes he should do for them, and to them, is use them as props to justify his massive lies. That’s the control he wants and needs.

And he could care less about what Congress does or doesn’t do just as long as it doesn’t get in his way, but gives him what he wants..

Remember, this is the King of the Executive Order. He makes the laws, because he is the law. And that’s why he behaves like a government of one. Because unless they’re working directly under his aegis or doing his bidding, no one else matters.

This is why folks who know this guy is damaged mental goods must vote during the midterms to curtail his power. It is very clear that the only purpose Republicans serve in Congress is to run interference for Trump because his base is their base. Hopefully the moment Republicans realize that Trump no longer holds the same kind of currency with their voters that he once did, they’ll drop him like a hot rock.

Hopefully.

I predict that epiphany will occur after the GOP gets their butts kicked after the midterms, but we have to make it happen first. We have to unravel this mess, and the only way we can do that is by using our collective voting power.

This is our government, NOT his. Time we started acting that way. We can expect him to mess with the 2026 midterm elections as much as possible, with the clown car of Republicans helping him. But it shouldn’t matter.

We simply don’t have time for his chronic bruised ego routine throwing childish temper tantrums all because he can’t break the law or exceed his executive authority anytime he wants. And certainly because he’s deathly afraid of being held accountable by the “wretched” Democrats.

And we also don’t have time for people who, for purely selfish reasons I’m sure, support Trump no matter what he does wrong, because they have a grudge against the country. These folks are accessories to the murder of our democracy, and feel that the only way to be heard is to go along with the one maniac who will destroy it and has shown that he can actually get away with it.

Let’s be brutally honest - there’s Donald Trump, and then there is sanity and the truth.

Come next November, which side will you be on?!!!

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THE CASH STUFF FOR FEB. 26, 2026

                                                    MASTER TROOPER STIEN DAVIS, JR.

BLACK NC MASTER TROOPER

DIES “IN THE LINE OF DUTY”

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

Since the NC Highway Patrol was created in 1929, there have been 73 deaths in the line of duty, according to the NC Highway Patrol Retirees Association.

Early Sunday morning, is when the 73rd patrolman lost his life.

Master Trooper Stien Davis, Jr., assigned to Troop B, District 7 in Robeson County, was killed in a single-vehicle collision shortly after midnight on Sunday, according to the NC Highway Patrol. Reportedly, he was on duty, traveling in his patrol vehicle on N.C. Highway 130 when he apparently lost control of his vehicle, veered off the roadway and overturned in a swampy area.

"Master Trooper Davis was a member of the 141st Basic Patrol School and served our state and the Robeson County area with distinction," a statement from Colonel Freddy Johnson, Jr. said. "Any forthcoming details related to his passing as well as information related to a celebration of life ceremony will be shared as we move forward."

Gov. Josh Stein offered his condolences upon word of Master Trooper Davis’s death.

“My heart goes out this morning to the family of Master Trooper Stien Davis, the NC State Highway Patrol, and the entire law enforcement community mourning the loss of a son, a friend, and a colleague,” Stein said. “I’ve offered Colonel Johnson any support the Patrol may need during this difficult time.”

The NC Highway Patrol - which has 1600 state troopers that cover 80,000 miles of NC highways - became a separate Cabinet agency in July 2025. 

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 GOV. STEIN CALLS FOR

BLACK MONUMENT IN

STATE BUDGET PROPOSAL

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

If and when the Republican-led NC General Assembly finally passes a 2025-27 budget, one of the things Gov. Josh Stein would like to see in it is funding for a monument honoring African-America contributions to North Carolina’s history that had been slated for the State Capitol grounds.

Now, with the country celebrating its 250th anniversary, the question is being asked again, will the monument to Black North Carolinians ever be erected?

The monument was originally funded by the NC General Assembly in 2019, but the budget that year was never ratified. Plus in 2020, after the police murder of George Floyd, numerous protests across the nation and in North Carolina, saw several Confederate statues be taken down by demonstrators, and also then Gov. Roy Cooper.

Republicans were not pleased, and even though an African-American monument would be included in various House and Senate budget proposals over the past six years, nothing has transpired. However, there are House proposals to erect monuments honoring the late evangelist Billy Graham and the Revolutionary War as soon as a new state budget is passed.

Now, in Black History Month 2026, the question is being asked again - will North Carolina ever erect a monument in honor of African-American contributions to North Carolina history?

Gov. Stein told the Raleigh News & Observer recently that despite the legislature’s budget delay, he still wants to see the monument on State Capitol grounds.

“I think the Capitol ground — it’s sacred public ground that should reflect the entirety of North Carolina. And obviously the African American experience in North Carolina has been critical to who we are, and it should be reflected,” Stein said, adding that he intends to have the African-American monument in his 2026 budget proposal to present to the NC General Assembly in coming weeks when it returns to session.

To date, Republicans in the legislature have demonstrated an inclination to ignore many of Gov. Stein’s budget proposals, just as they did former Gov. Cooper before him.

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THE CASH COMMENTARY FOR FEB. 19, 2026

                                                                 CASH MICHAELS

REV. JACKSON AND I IN 2017

              KEEP HOPE ALIVE

         by Cash Michaels

This week, I was sadly reminded of the value of being a reporter who was there when the Rev. Jesse Jackson ran for the presidency in 1988, and kicked off his campaign from Raleigh.

Reminded that I was in a position back then to see things and know people who were very much part of the process, so much so that I unexpectedly became a part of the process myself.

Sadly, because Rev. Jackson passed away during the early morning hours of Tuesday, February 17th of this week, claiming his rightful place among the historic heroes and she-roes of the civil rights and social justice movements that helped make America a more equitable place for all people to live.

As I noted, I remember his 1988 campaign much better than Rev. Jackson’s 1984 presidential campaign primarily because the ’88 campaign actually kicked off here in North Carolina at the old Raleigh Civic and Convention Center on Oct. 10, 1987, and I was there.

Rev. Jackson was slated to make his announcement for the presidency during a convention of the National Rainbow Coalition, Jackson’s multi-racial organization that was about empowering the downtrodden of all colors and persuasions through the vote.

I was program director for the old WLLE-AM radio station then, and had made it a point to make “Willie,” the nickname for the small, black-owned, 500-watt daytimer radio station, the cutting edge for news and information in Raleigh’s African-American community. That meant beyond the daily gospel and rhythm & blues programming, we also did a ton of public affairs shows too.

In order to pull that off, I had to be tied into Raleigh’s Black power structure - people such as former Raleigh Mayor Clarence Lightner (the only African-American ever to hold that post); his son, Bruce Lightner, the bold leader who made things happen in the community; District C City Councilman Ralph Campbell, Jr. (whose father, Ralph Campbell, Sr. was once the outspoken leader of the local NAACP); Wake County Sheriff John H. Baker Jr., the legendary former NFL defenseman and first black sheriff since Reconstruction in the South; Rep. Dan Blue, Jr., who would go on to become the only Black speaker of the NC House, and the list could go on.

“Willie” at the time was THE Black radio station in the community, even though it was an AM, so when important events came to town, the Black leaders listed above would point our way.

When officials with Rev. Jackson’s National Rainbow Coalition did advance work for the convention and Rev. Jackson’s announcement, they came to WLLE-AM asking how we could help promote it so all of Black Raleigh would know what was happening. They wanted a packed house.

I’ll never forget. They told me whatever I wanted, or whoever I wanted, to do a commercial or whatever, all I had to do was ask. Everything had to be done by phone. All I had to do was choose, and if that thing or person was available, I could have them to get the job done.

So, off the top of my head right there on the spot, I said I wanted comedian Bill Cosby (this was long before all of his mess) and someone else (I honestly forget who my second choice was) to do promos for me plus a phone interview to run on the air, thinking to myself “Yeah, right. Let’s see how this turns out.”

Well, I have in my possession to this day, a recording of me actually directing comedian Bill Cosby for the convention promo that I cut together, and doing a brief interview. 

I had written a script, but Cosby didn’t want to get into all of that. So I asked him to just say, “Come out, and see history in the making,” which he said twice.

Then, because Cos seemed to be getting pissed off with me, I just asked him to answer one question about why Jesse Jackson should be president. Cos said something like “...because for too long we have been taken granted.” I cut those two answers together with my script for my Cosby spot promoting Rev. Jackson’s historic announcement in Raleigh.

Jackson’s people also got me the popular national “America’s Top 40” radio personality Casey Kasem ( a lot of people then didn’t realize that Casey was actually Lebanese, thus his real name “Kemal Amin Ka-sem”) to rotate with the Cosby spot.

And when the National Rainbow Coalition Convention finally kicked off, I decided I would provide Black Raleigh “live” coverage of the convention highlights. But the radio station could not afford any special equipment to do the job. Cellphones were big, bulky things then, and not many folks had them (this was October 1987). That allowed me to get creative.

So I packed up my equipment, took it down to the Civic and Convention Center downtown (not far from the station), and along with WLLE’s public affairs hostess, Mrs. Margaret Rose Murray, would record segments and interviews with celebrities there on cassette, which a young man would then bicycle to the radio station, interrupt programming and have played back for the community to listen to. 

Anyone who listened to “Willie” that Saturday morning could not tell that they were listening to cassette recordings, and those recordings were only maybe ten minutes delayed hitting the air.

When Rev. Jackson finally hit the stage to make his historic announcement, our audience heard it only minutes later clear as a bell on tape, costing our station nothing (maybe a few bucks for the young man on the bicycle).

The NY Times reported it this way:

In the heart of what he called ''the new South,'' where he is running well ahead of the other candidates, the Rev. Jesse Jackson today officially announced his candidacy for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

He told a standing-room-only crowd at the Raleigh Civic Center that he is seeking the Presidency ''to bring justice in our land, mitigate misery in the world and bring peace on earth.''

''Only in America is such a dream possible,'' Mr. Jackson declared to an audience he had worked to a fever pitch.

Naturally, in the years since, I’ve had the occasion of running into Rev. Jackson several times when he would come back to Raleigh. I remember he always stayed at the North Raleigh Hilton. One time I saw him getting a bag from a vehicle trunk in the parking lot, so I ran over, identified myself, and took his bag to carry it inside for him.

A good reporter must be willing to do almost anything for an exclusive with someone as high profile as Jesse Jackson.

I’ll never forget. I figured I’d try to get a smile out of Rev. Jackson first, so I said, while we were walking, “Did you ever think you’d see the day when a member of the press would be carrying your bag?’

He didn’t smile as I had hoped. Instead he kept looking down as we walked toward the Hilton entrance, and replied,”Why not? I’ve been carrying their baggage for a long time!”

Jackson definitely wasn’t smiling when he said it.

That response told me he was still bitter over some of the tough coverage he’d gotten over the years, including in 1984 when he made the mistake of referring to New York City as “Hymietown”- a negative reference to Jewish people -  in what he thought was an off-the-record conversation with a reporter.

The blowback from that unforced error hurt Rev. Jackson for some time to come. So understandably, he would subsequently have his guard up.

It would be many years later when I would see an elderly Rev. Jackson at a State NAACP Convention in Raleigh, and ask him to do a quick sit-down interview with me on-camera for a film I was producing titled “Al: My Brother,” about the sixties civil rights movement.

I asked him about the important role many white people played in standing up for Black civil rights, integration, voter registration, etc. It’s the same question I asked Congressman John Lewis months earlier for the film before he died.

Rev. Jackson’s speech was slurred then, but I still used many of his remarks because I was so grateful he took the time to speak with me.

And that was the beauty of the man. Rev. Jesse Jackson was bold, dynamic, eloquent, powerful and visionary. He was a Black Adonis, and next to Muhammad Ali, the personification of Black manhood.

Was Jesse Jackson flawed? Absolutely, but it was because he was that he maintained the credibility to speak to many, and for many who never thought they could ever be somebody.

And Jackson’s outreach to young people was masterful. During his two historic runs for the presidency, in addition to working on behalf of Democratic candidates he supported, Rev. Jackson registered literally millions of new voters, bringing them into the political process and redefining the term “empowerment.”

But before I say anything else, let me also acknowledge that Rev. Jesse Jackson was a devout man of GOD who was led by the spirit, and spoke from it as well. A close disciple of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Jackson knew that he could easily lose his life as well at the hands of an assassin, but that never stopped him leading, speaking out, and telling truth to power.

Rev. Jesse Jackson has been off the scene for a while now, old age having slowed him down, and yet, when he could, he’d be out there still marching, protesting, and getting arrested with Bishop William Barber, still inspiring young people to do the things that matter for real social change.

        His legend is greater now in death, than in life.

If you want to truly honor Rev. Jesse Jackson now that he has gone on to take his rightful place with the ancestors, then simply follow his advice, and “Keep hope alive,” especially in these extremely difficult times.

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