CASH MICHAELS

IGNORING THE WISHFUL WISHING

                                                 By Cash Michaels

        If you enjoy a nice, tender, juicy ribeye steak like I do at least once a week, I’ve got to ask, have you seen the price of beef lately? According to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, beef prices are up almost 9% and rising since January, and June’s consumer price index showed steak up 12.4% over last year.

So what are we doing now to help lower beef prices?

Yakking about the Epstein files!

The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development is moving to restrict who qualifies for vital rental assistance, meaning that approximately 1.4 million of the nation’s poorest renters are now at risk of losing their homes.

So what are we doing to make sure those poor families ultimately have a decent place to live?

Opining a plenty about how Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi has asked a judge to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein trial!

And finally, according to a new Associated Press - NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, 6 in 10 Americans believe the new “big, beautiful bill” that Congress recently passed will do more to hurt, than help low-income Americans.

So, shouldn’t we be discussing ways to help poor people in this country survive the extreme cutbacks to the social safety net that, in many cases, is their only means of survival?

Silly me. Sure, and we’ll eventually get to that, just as soon as we finish blabbing about how Trump is suing The Wall Street Journal and owner Rupert Murdoch for $10 billion for reporting that Trump once wrote a “bawdy” 50th birthday greeting with the drawing of a naked woman, and his signature on it to his ace boon buddy, financier and convicted sexual predator, Jeffrey E.

        By the way, I'm sure Rupert and the WSJ have the goods on Trump per that story. And Trump knows it.

My point? In the face of a lot of pressing and critical problems in this country - created by you-know-who,  that are only getting worse, we’re spending far too much time and overwhelming energy reporting and discussing the Donald Trump connection to his dead, perverted, richie-rich pediophile pal, Jeffrey Epstein.

Why? Because folks believe Trump is falling out of favor with his MAGA base and supporters over his alleged close past relationship with Epstein, and they hope that the breach will ultimately bring him down.

Yeah, and I’ve always invested my colorful imagination into one day seeing pigs fly!

        I mean Democrats, and some Republicans in Congress are so itching to vote on releasing the Epstein files, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson is shutting down the House early until September just to stop that from happening.

        There's a lot of noise, folks, but guess what?

All of this "Epstein files are going to hurt Trump" talk is NOT going to happen, people! STOP the wishful wishing!

        Now don't get me wrong. It's obvious there's something in the Epstein saga, let alone the purported files, that King TACO doesn't want anybody to know about, especially if it involves him allegedly engaging in sex, let alone the sex trafficking of underage girls along with his late pedio-pal. I wouldn't put it past him!

Apparently a lot of folks in the press feel that way too! Check out these recent headlines:

The Hill- Opinion - “THE SCANDAL THAT COULD FINALLY END TRUMP

BuzzFeed - “...WHY TRUMP’S VOTER BASE IS CRUMBLING IN REAL TIME

MSNBC - "TRUMP LIVING IN ABJECT TERROR RIGHT NOW"

        The NY Times - "THE ONE THING TRUMP DOESN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT"

Sure, I’ve read and heard some good reasoning for why the Trump-Epstein    controversy should cause serious problems when absolutely nothing else of a spectacular nature has so much as put a dent into King TACO’s unshakable persona.

Many say the cult-like QAnon reverence MAGA has for Trump, now only to feel betrayed that he did not fulfill a campaign promise to punish alleged high-profile Democratic pedophiles who are “obviously” revealed in the Epstein so-called “client list,” if only it would be released, has come to a head.

        "If you tell the base of people, who support you, of deep state treasonous crimes, election interference, blackmail, and rich powerful elite evil cabals, then you must take down every enemy of The People," a frustrated nutty MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X Monday. "If not, the base will turn and there's no going back. Dangling bits of red meat no longer satisfies. They want the whole steak dinner and will accept nothing else."

Others say many MAGA followers are upset that for all of the considerable societal damage that Trump has already done, he hasn’t caused enough to their satisfaction.

And still many are upset that at the six-month mark of Trump 2.0, there are promises he’s made that haven’t been kept yet. Which would explain that disgusting AI video posted by Trump of former Pres. Obama being arrested by FBI agents, wrestled to the ground in the Oval Office, and then thrown into prison dressed in a orange jumpsuit, all to the tune of “Y-M-C-A.”

And that came right after Trump’s “intelligence” director, the crazy looking Tulsi Gabbard, forwarded a criminal referral to another crazy Trump appointee, Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, stating that top Obama Administration officials “manufactured” the Russian collusion charges against Trump in 2016.

        On Tuesday, Trump openly and shamefully accuse former Pres. Obama of "treason."

In an attempt to completely wipe the Trump-Epstein connection story off the face of the planet, Fox News is running with this phony Obama bullcrap like it’s a new tomorrow.

        Folks keep forgetting, even if a word of these idiot accusations against Obama were true, isn't he shielded for alleged bad acts while in office like Trump, thanks to the Supreme Court?

        So the MAGA crowd can stop salivating. Obama behind bars ain't going to happen! 

Intelligent folks, even some conservatives, have already poked holes into Gabbard’s garbage, but still the point is made that we’ve got real and growing problems in this nation, but a lot of time and energy is being spent on alleged Trump-inspired conspiracies that do nothing to put one morsel of food in the mouths of those who need it the most in this country.

For those hoping to cripple Trump with this Epstein stuff, give it up. He’s already floated enough media distractions out there - like releasing over 200,000 files on the King assassination against the family’s wishes, or this racist demand to return the Redskins’ name back to the Washington NFL football team nonsense - to move anymore talk of Epstein to the back comics section.

        By the way, I agree that it's weird that the Trump Administration can release over 200,000 files on the assassination of dr. Martin Luther King jr., but not one page from the Epstein files.

King TACO is both super sick AND ultra crafty. History proves it is VERY difficult indeed to trap that kind of warped ego in conventional ways. 

That’s how cunning he is.

Wishful wishing isn’t enough! Quite frankly, by paying more attention to King TACO’s toothless scandals, and less on solving the growing and real predicaments he’s put the country in, is just playing into his greedy little tiny hands. He actually loves these scandals. Proves that no one has gotten rid of him yet, and that no one ever will.  

Indeed, Trump won’t let them.

Whether it was the Access Hollywood “grab ‘em by the …” tapes, or being impeached (but not convicted) twice by Congress, or convicted for 34 felonies in a NYC courtroom, the warped egotist who is a legend in his own mind, has survived political blows that would have leveled most other high profile power-brokers.

How?

Because as I said before, Trump is both super sick AND ultra shrewd. He is a great student of human behavior, figures that everyone else also has a dark corner they don’t want revealed, but aren’t as vicious and cunning as he is in covering their’s up.

That’s why he’s gone after Biden so much, especially with this stupid autopen stuff, saying it is “the greatest scandal in American history.”

Yeah, and my Aunt Bessie’s biscuits are the fluffiest you’ll ever taste!

But King TACO gets away with this stuff because he knows his audience.

And MAGA folks think they know him only because they like the fact that he hates everybody they hate, and uses his power to diminish their perceived enemies to their delight. When he fails to do that, sure, MAGA folks get mad, but they aren’t going anywhere.

Why? Because no one else gives them as colorful, or as powerful, an alternative as Trump.

Add to that something quite frightening several columnists have recently taken note of, that Trump literally IS THE LAW now.

In an insightful op-ed piece in The Hill recently titled “King Donald? Supreme Court grants Trump power to repeal laws at his whim,”  constitutional law expert Prof. Kimberly Wehle states, “Trump simply snatched the power to make and repeal major federal legislation and programs that affect millions of American[s]… for himself…”

“Worse, the majority on the Supreme Court is letting him do it. Like Trump, it made its ruling on-the-fly and behind closed doors — without full briefing, oral argument or a written decision explaining the justices’ rationale for allowing this end run around Article I of the Constitution (which lodges the lawmaking power in Congress) and Article II (which mandates that the president take care that the laws are faithfully executed)…”

“This sounds like a dystopian science fiction storyline that a bunch of Hollywood writers and producers dreamed up. But it’s real. This is Trump’s — and the Supreme Court’s — America.”

In this case, Prof. Wehle was talking specifically about Trump destroying the U.S. Dept. of Education, but you get the message. That was just the easiest agency in the federal government for him to start, which means he’s NOT finished destroying government entities that were legally created by Congress.

When the U.S. Supreme Court allows a president to ignore the law, then he BECOMES THE LAW!

Does anyone in their right mind believe that MAGA is going to desert a president of the United States with all of that power swag?

So believe me, watch and see, the Epstein affair nonsense will come and go, and all will be forgiven. Most passionate relationships in life hit a bumpy road, but as long as of one of the partners has the goods, everything is usually  forgiven. Such is the case with MAGA and Trump.

Stop wasting time with this wishful wishing. Trump isn’t going anywhere until GOD Almighty Himself decides it’s his turn.

Until then, we just have to work to blunt Trump’s power as best as we can by organizing and mobilizing for 2026.

That’s NOT wishful wishing! That’s important WORK, and we better get to getting it done!

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THE CASH STUFF FOR THURSDAY, JULY 24TH, 2025

                                                     REV, DR. CARDES H. BROWN JR.

                                                       ATTY. PHILLIP E. THOMPSON

EXCLUSIVE

VIRGINIA ATTORNEY SAYS

HE’S FILING LAWSUIT

AGAINST NAACP IN AUGUST

ON BEHALF OF UNJUSTLY

SUSPENDED MEMBERS

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

A Virginia-based attorney says he plans to file a lawsuit against the national NAACP in August on behalf of unjustly suspended members, many of whom are here in North Carolina.

Atty Phillip E. Thompson, a former president of the Loudoun County, Virginia NAACP Chapter and former member of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP Executive Committee, whose primary areas of practice include civil rights litigation, told this reporter exclusively last week that he is not seeking to hurt the civil rights organization in any way, but does feel it important to represent the many dedicated NAACP members and officers across the nation who, in recent years, were unduly suspended without due process and in contradiction to established NAACP bylaws and articles of governance.

“The NAACP should treat its volunteer members a little bit better,” Thompson said in a phone interview last week.

Atty Thompson made clear that his efforts are not connected with any political party or organization.

Thompson’s story is very similar to the personal stories told by other former NAACP officials and members who have shared how they proudly advocated in their communities for many years, until, for some reason, they ran afoul of the national NAACP office, later having to answer to Gloria Sweetlove, Tennessee State Conference president, who was sent in to take control of the Virginia State Conference.

That same scenario played out here in North Carolina a few years ago when Sweetlove was assigned by the NAACP Board of Directors to oversee the North Carolina State Conference after unfounded allegations of financial impropriety.

Thompson said when Sweetlove took over the Virginia conference, he “punched out," but noticed that friends of his and fellow members then started to be unjustly suspended, and couldn’t understand why.

What was worse, these Virginia NAACP members weren’t be provided due process hearings, as is their right according to the NAACP Constitution and  Bylaws, Article X, as adopted in March 2019.:

When an individual becomes a member of the NAACP, that individual pledges to abide by the rules and policies of the Association and the decisions of the Board of Directors. [Upon satisfactory evidence]…that an officer or member…is guilty of conduct not in accord with the principles, aims and purposes of [the NAACP] as set forth in its Constitution [the Board] may order suspension, expulsion or other disciplinary action against the officer or member, after a full hearing, if requested by the respondent in accord with the provisions of this constitution.

Thompson says he and a colleague, Jesse Frierson, weren’t sure what to do until enough disaffected NAACP members, in addition to an episode of journalist Roland Martin’s “Unfiltered” online program focusing on NAACP suspensions in Tampa, FLA., convinced them that something had to be done.

That’s when the 21st Century Accountability Project was born.

“We are reaching out to individuals whose NAACP memberships have been suspended or revoked without clear explanation or due process under Article X of the NAACP Constitution and Bylaws. This questionnaire is part of the work now being conducted by the 21st Century Accountability Project,” Atty Thompson wrote in a June 10th email sent to disaffected NAACP members across the country, including here in North Carolina.

“…[W]e are now exploring legal action against the National NAACP and its top leadership for their failure to follow the organization’s own governing rules, and for civil violations including slander, libel, and tortious interference.”

“This project is both a legal and moral effort to restore fairness, transparency, and trust within one of the nation’s most historically significant civil rights institutions.”

Attached to the email from Atty. Thompson, as stated, was a questionnaire and confidentiality agreement, used to both collect the complaints of unjustly suspended NAACP members, and also protect their identities and information.

The email from Atty Thompson also stated that, “The 21st Century Accountability Project was founded by civil rights attorneys and veteran civil rights advocates, working alongside longtime NAACP members, community organizers, and concerned individuals from across the country.”

“I’m trying to get enough plaintiffs from different parts of the country that will give us a global look at this problem,” Atty Thompson said. "I get calls all the time from all over the country everyday. Colorado, California, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, here in Virginia. People who have been aggrieved by the NAACP without being given proper ability to address their concerns.”

“Some of these people have been around forever, and you’re going to toss these people out?,” Thompson asked rhetorically. “They don’t have the ability to fight this [NAACP] machine.”

Thompson says he does not consider himself an NAACP member now not only because of all of the conflicts he had with the national office previously, but because he hasn’t paid dues in some time. He says he’s never gotten a suspension letter.

According to the NAACP Constitution, there’s also the fact that he’s involved in potential litigation against the civil rights organization that’s enough to get his membership tossed, in and of itself.

Thompson’s project also has a website at https:/21stcenturyaccountabilityproject.org

which touts “Holding Civil Rights Leaders and Organizations Accountable. We work to ensure that national Civil Rights Organizations (NCRO) follow their Constitutions and Bylaws and provide due process to their members.”

The project has a  “Donate” and a “Learn More” button. Scroll down, and a closeup picture of the Washington, D.C. monument honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. appears.

Atty Thompson, who is licensed to practiced law in Maryland, adds he’s trying to get his lawsuit against the NAACP, whose national headquarters is in Baltimore, filed sometime in August.

A number of lawsuits have been filed against the national NAACP in recent years in North Carolina for various reasons. 

In Nov. 2023, a $15 million sexual harassment lawsuit from a former female member of the NC NAACP was settled involving former state officer Rev. Curtis E. Gatewood, who maintained his innocence. He was dismissed from the suit.

In 2022, former NC NAACP Pres. Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman filed a defamation suit against the NAACP claiming defamation for false accusations of fiscal malfeasance against Pres./CEO Derrick Johnson, National NAACP Board Chairman Leon Russell, NC NAACP Pres. Deborah Dicks Maxwell, and several other state NAACP officers and members.

However, when Rev. Spearman died under suspicious circumstances in 2022, his litigation died with him.

Given the number of suspended NAACP members who've received letters from the national office not only claiming that they were being punished, but had hearings that in fact never happened with them being present, several have been contacted for this story in the past week to get their impressions of Atty Thompson’s efforts, and to see if they had any interest in speaking with him.

One of the most prominent North Carolina suspended members is Rev. Dr. Cardes H. Brown, Jr., longtime pastor of New Light Missionary Baptist Church in Greensboro, and president and founder of the Justice Coalition USA, a national 501(c)3 group of disaffected NAACP members born out of the 2021 NC NAACP election controversy surrounding then state Pres. T. Anthony Spearman and current Pres. Deborah Dicks Maxwell.

Pastor Brown was previously chair of the Religious Affairs Committee for the state conference, as well as a Greensboro branch president for four terms, and a Life member. He was also honored with the distinguished Benjamin Hooks Keeper of the Flame Award.

Pastor Brown was suspended by the National NAACP office in an October 26, 2022 letter. In a Nov. 4, 2022 written response, Pastor Brown wrote that NAACP Pres./CEO Derrick Johnson, in the October 2022 missive suspending him, demanded that Rev. Brown,

“immediately cease and desist making false, disparaging and defamatory statements against the National NAACP, the NAACP national leadership, the NAACP national staff, the North Carolina State Conference NAACP, and all the North Carolina State Conference NAACP leadership.” The letter further demanded that [Rev. Brown] immediately “remove all disparaging and the defamatory statements, videos, recordings and documents from the Justice Coalition USA website, and any and all other platforms.” 

        "Your letter finally demanded that I “remove internal NAACP correspondence from the Justice Coalition USA website.” Is it your understanding that you have the right and/or authority to impose a demand that is in violation or contradiction to my first amendment rights or the rights of others? Your allegations that I have done something to obstruct, harm or hinder, (inimical) the work of the NAACP, I vehemently challenge.”

In that Nov. 4, 2022 response from Pastor Brown, he formally requested a hearing, as was his membership right, but it never happened.

When asked what he thought of Atty Phillip E. Thompson’s potential lawsuit against the NAACP on behalf of unjustly suspended members like himself, Pastor Brown said he was interested in contacting Thompson to hear more.

“I will definitely try to get in touch with atty. Thompson,” Pastor Brown said during a phone interview Saturday.

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NC BLACK YOUTH SUICIDE

PREVENTION ACTION PLAN

LAUNCHED BY NCDHHS

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

According to the North Carolina Dept. of Health and Human Services, there has been a “sharp increase” in suicide rates among Black youth across the state, so a unique targeted suicide prevention effort has been launched.

The NC Black Youth Suicide Prevention Action Plan, coinciding with the Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, is an “…effort [that] sheds light on communities which have been marginalized, where mental health challenges persist, and outlines initiatives to be implemented over the next five years to reduce injury and save the lives of Black youth and young adults.”

According to 2023 data, “Black populations were over represented in emergency department visits for suicidal thoughts or self-injury, particularly among the 10-24 age group.” 

Data also shows that black youth are over-represented in suicides and suicides attempts, but underrepresented in calls to the 988 suicide hotline, especially in urban counties. More than half of black youth and young adults who died from 2013 - 22 did so by firearms.

"A community-led, ground-up approach is essential to address the increase in suicide rates among Black youth and young adults," says Kelly Crosbie, NCDHHS Director of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services. "NCDHHS wants to ensure everyone has the support they need before, during, and after a personal crisis, especially groups that are disproportionately affected."

An effective action plan to address this particular problem among Black youth in North Carolina must take into account traditional barriers to accessing medical and mental health services, including socio-economic, cultural miscommunications with health providers, and even a lack of access to Black and other providers of color.

The action plan, as developed by NCDHHS in collaboration with the NC Dept. of Instruction, UNC Suicide Prevention Institute, and other community-based organizations, seeks to achieve six objectives:

1. Establish the Community of Practice and Education (COPE) initiative to lead, develop and champion suicide prevention efforts at the community level, targeting Black youth and young adults in North Carolina.

        2. Strengthen supportive mental health services for Black youth, incorporating both peer support specialists and peer-to-peer support systems.

         3. Enhance awareness and training for suicide prevention, specifically for Black youth.  

         4. Reduce access to lethal means among Black youth.

         5. Strengthen protective factors for Black youth to support mental well-being. 

         6.  Establish a comprehensive understanding of the suicide prevention needs of Black youth through data analysis and reporting to inform targeted interventions and increase awareness.

         According to NCDHHS, the agency will “…support a statewide event on Sept. 20 in Rocky Mount: the Stronger Together Conference. This unique conference is a free one-day, interactive experience centered on cultural connection, creative expression and community care. The event will bring together youth, young adults and advocates for a day of learning, healing and community building. Registration is open and available on the website. NCDHHS will provide more details about the event in the coming weeks. 

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