CASH IN THE APPLE FOR
10-5-17
By Cash Michaels
OUR COLLECTIVE NERVOUS BREAKDOWN
CONTINUES – This is different. Yes, as a nation, we’ve had hurricanes, and
threats of nuclear war, and forest fires, and destructive floods, and mass
shootings before.
But we’ve never had them bunch
together so closely in a span of a few weeks, if not months. And to top it all
off, we’ve never had a leader as a president so emotionally inept as the
blonde-hair clown we have in the Oval Office now.
When
the school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. happened
a few years ago, as a nation, we had an angry and frustrated President Barack
Obama come out to the world, denounce Congress for its repeated failure to pass
even a federal background checks law, let alone any other serious gun control
legislation, and promising that he would never let up on lawmakers as long as
he remained in office.
26
human beings – 20 of them small children, were gunned down at that Newtown
school shooting, and yet, regardless of tremendous pressure from Pres. Obama
and the American people, the Republicans in Congress, clearly in the back
pocket of the National Rifle Association, proudly did absolutely nothing to
make guns harder to get in our society.
And
so now, fast forward to last Sunday night, and the Las Vegas mass shooting,
where a lone, crazed gunman rents a hotel suite on the 32nd floor,
brings 19 guns with him, some with a scope, some converted to automatic
capacity with the power and capability of a machine gun, and literally sprays
helpless people has they attend a country music festival downstairs several
hundred yards away.
As
crass as it sounds, with 22,000 people in attendance below, the gunman was
literally shooting fish in a barrel, ultimately killing 59, and wounding almost
530.
Las
Vegas is now in the history books for being the home of the deadliest mass
murder in modern US history.
And
when our current president took to the airwaves, taking a break from
criticizing Puerto Ricans “wanting everything done for them” after Hurricane
Maria completely devastated their island (which is also an American
commonwealth, thus making them citizens), sure he spoke in softer tones as
usual, and of course he spoke yarns about Americans “coming together” and
la-de-da-de-da.
But
did the blonde behind-cavity say anything about curbing access to dangerous
firearms, like his predecessor insisted on to a deaf-and-dumb do noting
Congress?
Of
course not.
Heck,
this Congress spend the last seven years, with a Republican majority, trying to
get rid of Obamacare, and couldn’t do it. They aren’t worth the breath it takes
to even think of their party’s name.
So
it seems like, as a nation, we simply can’t get a moment’s peace. Our
collective nervous breakdown continues, and we have absolutely no moral leader
that we can depend on to at least exhibit some common decency through it all.
We
all know this man’s heart – he doesn’t have one. And we all know that instead
of trying to stop a looming war with North Korea, he’s more than willing to
start one.
We
know that instead of trying to help the devastated people of Puerto Rico, he’s
trying to kick them while they’re down.
And
we know that instead of saving face, and coming clean about how much he knows
about the Russian meddling during the 2016 presidential election that allegedly
helped to get him elected, he’d rather play hide-n-seek with investigators
until they haul his blonde backside out of the Oval in cuffs for the world to
see.
Thus
far, we’ve seen a lot, folks. But something tells me, we’re nowhere near seeing
it all yet!
GOD
help us!
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REV,DR. T. ANTHONY SPEARMAN AND REV. DR. PORTIA ROCHELLE
NCNAACP CANDIDATES
PLEDGE
TO SUPPORT BLACK
PRESS
By Cash Michaels
contributing writer
Both
candidates vying to succeed Bishop Dr. William J. Barber II as president of the
NCNAACP during elections this week at the 74th Annual NCNAACP
Convention in Raleigh, say they will continue the special relationship the
state’s oldest civil rights organization has had with the Black Press in order
to keep the African-American community both informed about emerging issues, and
empowered to confront them collectively.
“I don’t know that I would do anything different from Dr
Barber,” said Rev. Rochelle, “except always keep the community informed about
the issues that we’re dealing with, and any statements we want to make on the
issues, and continue to hold press conferences when needed, to get the
information out to the general public. It’s important that the community knows
the steps we’re taking on issues.”
When asked if he, too, will
maintain the tradition that Dr. Barber so aptly established in working closely
with Black newspapers to both inform and empower, Rev. Spearman replied, “Oh
God, will I!”
“Everywhere I’ve been as a pastor
in North Carolina, I have been a person who has advocated to our people how
important it is for us to support the Black Press,” Rev. Spearman said. “I purchased
Black newspapers for the churches I have been pastor of , I have a very good
working relationship with [local Black newspapers]. I think that the Black
Press and Black news is so vital to us as a people.”
“So yes,” Rev. Spearman added, “I
would continue that.”
In closing, both Rev. Rochelle and
Rev. Spearman had special messages for the NCNAACP members who they hope will
vote for them as the next president.
“Stakeholders
are risk takers,” said Rev. Rochelle. “And I believe that if we’re going to be
in a movement, we need to be totally involved. We can’t be part-time, or
once-a-month leaders.”
“We
must be alert, and actively working in our communities at all times, not just
when something ugly happens. We need to be prepared, our people, to be aware,
to go to the legislature and be aware of what’s going on, what laws are being
changed…all of those things are important in order to make sure that our people
are informed, and knowledgeable about situations that are affecting them.”
“We
can be resources to help our people prepare to be up-to-date, and to be
knowledgeable about things that are affecting them,” said Rev. Rochelle.
For
Rev. Spearman, he wants NCNAACP membership throughout the state to know that he
is seasoned, experienced, and above all, is not afraid to take on the pressures
and challenges of the state NAACP presidency.
“I’ve
been tellin’ folk, “I’m ‘woke,’ and I ain’t ‘skerd!’” I’m ready to go into this
thing. If I were to make it into the leadership of the NAACP, I’m like a dead
man. I’m already dead, you can’t kill me. I’m going to stand with my people, I’m
going to do all that I can to be that catalyst for change. Whatever I need to
do for them to try to do all that I can to protect them, that’s what I’m going
to do.”
“So
call me “the late T. Anthony Spearman” if you have to, but that’s something
that I genuinely believe.”
Elections
for NCNAACP offices, including president, take place Saturday, Oct. 7th
during the 74th Annual NCNAACP Convention in Raleigh.
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DR. BARBER LEAVES
NCNAACP
IN BEST SHAPE EVER
By Cash Michaels
contributing writer
For
Bishop Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the NCNAACP, the last 12 years of
leadership have indeed been challenging, but as he steps aside this week during
the 74th annual NCNAACP Convention in Raleigh, where a new president
will be elected, he looks back humbly, knowing that he’s leaving the state
conference – which was $80,000 in debt when he took over in 2005 - in better shape than he found it.
“The
one thing that people need to know about the NAACP is that it’s multi-faceted,
and not a one-issue organization,” Dr. Barber said during a recent exclusive
phone interview. “When you are a servant-leader, you have to be nimble; you
have to work with a lot of personalities and issues all at the same time. Which
is why one of the things I’ve shared with people running for president of the
state conference … though it is a volunteer position, though you do not get a
salary, you really better be in for full-time work, and full-time service.
Especially in a state like North Carolina – the largest state conference in the
South, and the second largest in the country (the NCNAACP was just recently
awarded First Place at the national NAACP Convention for having the most
membership growth in the nation in the past year).”
Recently
named president emeritus of the North Carolina state conference, and a permanent
member of the conference Executive Committee, Dr. Barber recalls many battles
he’s led the NCNAACP into, in the areas of education, civil rights, workers’
rights, immigrant rights, LBGTQ rights, affordable health care, criminal
justice and economic justice, many of which ended in victory for the people.
The
NCNAACP’s many hard fought victories in voting rights, starting with the
statewide establishment of One Stop/Early Voting/same day registration, and
culminating, thus far, with victories in the US Supreme Court and federal
courts in cases involving unconstitutional voter suppression laws and
redistricting maps by North Carolina’s Republican-led General Assembly.
Barber
says these voting rights victories are historic, and resound far beyond the
borders of North Carolina.
“To
be able to fight, and win against the worst voter suppression laws since Jim
Crow, and the worst gerrymandering since the 19th century…now that’s
huge!,” Dr. Barber exclaimed, noting that NCNAACP lawyers could not have won
without a movement on the ground. “The cases that we’ve won here in North
Carolina have literally shifted jurisprudence in this country.”
Barber
sees as even a bigger accomplishment bring building the “Forward Together”
movement, a coalition of other multi-cultural, multi-racial groups in concert
with the NCNAACP, all in lock-step on a variety of common issues with which to
leverage their large numbers during appropriate events. Dr. Barber calls that
“historic.”
And
what, perhaps, was the civil right’s leader’s greatest letdown during his
twelve years at the helm?
“I
hurt every day that we’ve not been able to get Medicaid expansion (for 500,000
more needy people) won here in North Carolina,” Dr. Barber lamented. “For every
500,000 people, 2800 die every year, according to a recent Harvard study. That means
that over 10,000 people (here in
North Carolina will have died
because of Medicaid denial in this state. And I always wondered if we
did it differently, could we have put more pressure on…anytime you have a cause,
and you’re in that cause because you want to make things better, it hurts. I
think about those folk every day.
But
all in all, as Dr. Barber prepares to make way for new NCNAACP leadership, he
cherishes that opportunity to have led one of the most dynamic state
conferences in the nation. Now a considered a nation leader, he will join the Pootr
People’s campaign to speak out against poverty.
“It’s
been my privilege to lead the NCNAACP, and now that I’m being requested to take
this on the road, and all around the country, …it’s been my privilege,” Bishop
Barber said.
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR
10-05-17
CHEMOURS SUED BY
WILMINGTON MAN FOR GENX DISCHARGE
[WILMINGTON] The Fayetteville chemical company,
accused of discharging Gen X into the Cape Fear River, possibly contaminating
the New Hanover County water supply, is now being sued in federal court in what
may turn out to be a class action lawsuit for “…the loss in value and marketability of
properties owned by Plaintiff and Class Members, the cost of remediating the
properties owned by Plaintiff and Class Members from the toxic chemicals
released from the Fayetteville Works Site, the cost of mitigating the
contaminated water, and/or the cost of alternative water sources.” Chemours, the company, and its parent corporation,
Dupont, are named. The suit was filed by Brent Nix of Wilmington, and seeks
both punitive and compensatory damages.
PARENTS, STUDENTS URGE STATE LAWMAKERS TO REPEAL CLASS SIZE
LAW
[RALEIGH]
With the NC General Assembly now in special session, citizens are wasting no
time giving state lawmakers a piece of their minds. Both parents and students
from across the state demonstrated in front of the Legislative Building
Tuesday, demanding that lawmakers repeal their mandate that reduced class sizes
from kindergarten through third grade. Many schools are now forced to eliminate
programs, and build new schools as a result in order to comply. Siblings are
being separated from the same school, and are being reassigned to other
schools. Lawmakers say they’ve already fully-funded the changes, and are
blaming the local school systems for not budgeting the changes wisely.
DESPITE PLEAS, STATE LAWMAKERS PLAN TO GO FORWARD WITH
JUDICIAL REDISTRICTING
[RALEIGH]
Judges, attorneys and citizens from across the state have all pleaded with Rep.
Justin Burr (R-Stanly) to slow down in his drive to have all North Carolina’s
judicial districts redrawn. Burr claims Democrats hold an advantage with the
current configuration, and that needs to be changed now, thus the special
called session. Democrats indeed fear that this is just a scheme to elect more
Republican judges to the bench from throughout the state. Judges say any
changes now will force their
colleagues tp drive further distances to hold court, and ultimately would put a
greater strain on the state’s criminal system.
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