[PLEASE NOTE - NO STATE NEWS BRIEFS THIS WEEK. NOT A LOT OF INTERESTING STUFF HAPPENING BECAUSE OF THE HOLIDAY. I'LL CHECK NEXT WEEK IF THERE'S ENOUGH FOR BRIEFS THEN. THANK YOU.]
CASH IN THE APPLE FOR 12-21-17
CASH IN THE APPLE FOR 12-21-17
By Cash Michaels
SAVING
MY LIFE [PART 4] – Merry Christmas, and I truly hope that Almighty GOD is
blessing you and yours as we all celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.
For
the past several weeks, I’ve been sharing with you how GOD has guided my
recovery from a debilitating stroke in 2014; and from a diagnosis of acute
leukemia in March 2016.
That
recovery involved me changing my attitude, changing my diet, and changing how I
treat my body…all centered on improving my relationship with GOD, and going
back to church so that His inspiration would carry through my changes.
The
result after six months? My health
is definitely better (blood pressure and blood sugar are normal); I’ve lost
over 50 lbs; and I feel much better and confident about myself.
Now
don’t get me wrong…I still have problems and challenges, but at least, with
GOD’s blessing and mercy, and LESSONS, I’m better able to deal with them.
My love for,
and faith in Jesus Christ, tells me that HE wants me to TAKE BETTER CARE OF
MYSELF, to have more confidence in myself as a child of GOD, and that I am
responsible for properly maintaining the temple that HE has given me.
To do that, I MUST eat properly in
order to live properly (eat to live, NOT live to eat as I was before). by
paying close attention (as best as i can in this society given all of the
garbage that passes for food), i should wean myself off of sugar (which is as
addictive as cocaine, many say) animal fats (except for nuts), and excessive
sodium (truth be told, I'm still working on that one, but at least my blood
pressure has gone down with the loss of weight).
Doing the above, supplementing with
fruit, romaine salads every day, protein (plant, fish or chicken), and lots of
water, and eating for mostly purpose, not for only ceremony, has added years to
my life, I'm convinced.
Paying close attention to what I'm
eating, and how much of it, is also VERY important, which is why I don't watch
TV and eat at the same time anymore (I may snack on fruit or nuts, but TV would
get me emotionally hyped-up to the point that I would have no idea how much I
was eating, or getting up to go back to the kitchen during commercial breaks.
Plus, the daily news about Trump was making me too anxious, so I've stopped
watching as much television news).
Knowing, and working to improve
myself spiritually, emotionally and physically has ABSOLUTELY made me feel
better about myself, and consequently, I'm praying more too!
YES, I ask my Heavenly Father for
things...mostly for others in my life. I ask for HIM to continue bless friends
and family, but most of all, I spend a great deal of time THANKING GOD for HIS
blessings in my life, and in the lives of those I love and cherish. Thanking GOD
is part of the feel good process for me, because gratitude to GOD for ALL that
HE has done, and IS DOING in our lives, IS ESSENTIAL for any of it to truly
mean anything!
And, when you know that GOD's
blessings are working in your life, and the lives of those you love and
cherish, that gives you the balance you've always been seeking. You're able to
weather your tough times better! Better to see more clearly when the devil is
working to stop you, and who he is working through to do it.
Your understanding of the world
around is so, so much better, especially your place in it!
You understand your personal mission
better, and you're more determined to see it through, because your faith in,
and strength through GOD, is what powers you.
Merry Christmas to you and yours, and
GOD bless you and your family. PART FIVE next week!
-30-
by Cash Michaels
contributing writer
It
was the year of recovering from the 2016 election of Donald Trump; when a
Democratic governor came into office in North Carolina, bitterly opposed by GOP
lawmakers; and a prominent black
leader gained national prominence as he stepped away from the NCNAACP.
Those
were just some of the top stories impacting North Carolina’s African-American
community we covered in 2017. In Part One, here’s a look at an eventful January through March.
January – Wake Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan is sworn-in to
the NC Supreme Court, making him the second African-American to currently
serve. Democrat Roy Cooper is sworn-in as governor, having unseated Republican
Pat McCrory in the November 2016 election. Gov. Cooper immediately fulfills a
campaign promise, choosing one of the most diverse gubernatorial Cabinets and
administrations in North Carolina history. Meanwhile the director of the
International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro alleges to the Black Press that
the facility is not being treated fairly by the City Council or Duke Energy.
At
the urging of NC Republican legislative leaders, the Us Supreme Court ordered a
hold on any redrawing of the 2011 redistricting maps, as originally ordered by
a special federal three-judge panel after the November 2016 elections. Gov.
Cooper and Republican legislative leaders get into a war of words over
repealing the controversial HB2 so-called “bathroom bill,” in addition to the
NC General Assembly passing laws during a special session in Dec. 2016 that
stripped the Democratic governor of many of his powers. Cooper sued the
legislature, as a result.
Gov.
Cooper appoints Durham Rep. Larry Hall, 61, to become secretary of veteran and
military affairs, adding to the eventual large number of African-Americans
serving in the governor’s Cabinet. As outgoing President Barack Obama prepares
to leave office after eight years, North Carolinians dread the inauguration of
Republican Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States.
A
new study denotes that Black women are dying of cervical cancer at an alarming
77 percent rate higher to white women.
February – The NCNAACP blasts Pres. Trump’s false assertions of
voter fraud. Duke Prof. Timothy B. Tyson makes national headlines with his new
book, “The Blood of Emmett Till,” when the Mississippi white woman whose
husband killed the black Chicago teenager in 1956, admits for the first time
that the 14-year-old did nothing wrong. The NCNAACP-led Forward Together
Movement holds it’s 11th Annual HK on J Moral March on Raleigh and
People’s Assembly. The GOP-led state Senate demands to vet Gov. Cooper’s
Cabinet officers before approving them to serve. Gov. Cooper appoints Col.
Glenn McNeil as commander of the NC Highway Patrol. Chancellors and presidents
from North Carolina’s HBCU’s meet with Pres. Trump, and GOP lawmakers.
March – US Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions announces that the US
Justice Dept will no longer legally fight against voter ID laws. The NCNAACP
and National NAACP Pres. Cornell Brooks call for an international economic
boycott of North Carolina because of “repressive” policies by the
Republican-led NC legislature. HBCU presidents and chancellors begin to doubt
Trump administration promises to their schools. Emboldened by the Trump
Administration, hate groups increase across the country.
Rock and roll icon Chuck berry dies
at age 90. The Winston-Salem Chronicle is sold by founder/publisher Ernie Pitt.
The controversial HB2 “bathroom bill” is repealed, shows and sporting events
begin returning to North Carolina after a boycott. Kalvin Michael Smith, who
supporters said was falsely convicted and imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit,
is shot after he’s released from prison, ans is listed in serious condition.
-30-
DID GOP ATTORNEY UP
FOR FEDERAL JUDGE
LIE?
By Cash Michaels
Editor
A
Raleigh attorney who has represented the NC Republican Party in defending voter
ID and racial gerrymandering, is now in hot water for allegedly lying to the
Senate Judiciary Committee that approved his Trump nomination to the federal
bench.
Atty.
Thomas Farr, up for the lifetime appointment to federal judgeship of US
District Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina, cleared the committee
last month with flying colors, but before the full Senate votes to approve his
judicial nomination, new questions have come up about Farr’s role in the 1990
campaign of the late Republican Senator Jesse Helms, and to what extent did
Farr involve himself in a “ballot security” scheme designed to intimidate black
voters statewide during Helm’s racially divisive 1990 US Senate campaign
against black Democratic challenger, Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt.
One
hundred-thousand “ballot security” postcards were sent to black Democratic
voters statewide from the NC Republican Party, warning them falsely that if
they tried to vote in precincts they were not registered in, they were “ineligible”
to cast a ballot, and could be arrested and thrown in jail,
Farr
was the lead counsel for the Helms’ campaign in 1990. Last September, he told
Senate Judiciary Committee that he knew nothing about the ballot security
postcards until after the US Justice Dept sent a letter to the campaign about
it.
But
a former US Justice Dept. attorney, Gerald Hebert, told the Independent Weekly Newspaper of Durham last week that per his investigation
at the time, Farr took part in a key meeting before any letter was sent to the
campaign by federal authorities.
And
yet, Farr is on record telling Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Se.
Diane Feinstein (D-CA) “No” when
she asked him, “While you were serving as lead counsel to the 1990 Helms for
Senate Committee, the Justice Department filed a complaint in federal court
charging the campaign with intimidating black voters in violation of the Voting
Rights Act of 1965?”
“The complaint alleged that the campaign
sent over 100,000 postcards to mainly African-American voters suggesting that
they were ineligible to vote and that voting could lead to criminal prosecution
for voter fraud. Did you provide any counsel, or were you consulted in any way,
about the content of or the decision to send these postcards?" Feinstein continued.
A transcript
show attorney Farr replying, “"I was
not aware that the cards had been sent until they had been sent and the manager
of the Helms Committee received a letter about the cards from the Voting Rights
Section of the United States Department of Justice,. The manager of the Helms
Committee then called me for legal advice."
US Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has now asked
the US Justice Dept. for a 1991 memo that outlines the ballot security scheme,
and allegedly places Farr right in
the middle of it.
“It is
clear to me that this memo is essential in determining whether Mr. Farr misled
the Senate Judiciary Committee, Booker wrote in a letter to US Attorney General
Jeff Sessions.
Strong
opposition to Farr’s judicial nomination has come from both North Carolina
congress-people, G. K. Butterfield and Alma Adams, and from the NCNAACP.
-30-
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