NNPA STORIES -
MEDIA
CASH IN THE APPLE
By Cash Michaels
TONIGHT - Accepting the
fact that we’re the last ones to the party, I’ll be giving the first
presidential debate between Pres. Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney my review in just a moment. But tonight is the vice
presidential debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin (9 p.m. on ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS and all of
the cable news networks).
This should be a
completely different debate for a variety of cogent reasons.
For starters, Joe (I
know, I know, I should refer to him as “Vice Pres. Biden,” but how many
barbershops and beauty salons have you been in where they’ve referred to him
like that? So no disrespect intended) is a guy who wears his emotions on his
sleeve every time he speaks publicly. That’s what’s been endearing about the
man for years.
So while we certainly
expect Biden to be careful about what he says, and how he says it, there’s
enough experience under the cap with this guy to trust that he’ll know what
he’s talking about.
And we fully expect him
to draw some blood from his opponent, Paul Ryan, making Ryan defend some of the
flip-flops and outright lies that were told by Mitt Romney in last week’s
debate. Since Ryan’s Medicare voucher plan gives us a good idea of where Mitt
Romney would be heading with his, then it is very appropriate for Joe to go
after him on this and other budget matters.
From Ryan, who is a
right-wing policy wonk who favors tax breaks for the rich, we expect that he
will challenge the Obama record. He will blame the Obama Administration for
bringing America down, and killing the American Dream with socialistic ideas.
Ryan will tell viewers
that the only way to save this nation is to elect he and Mitt Romney. He will
press the case that it is vital for freedom, and that freedom is what he and
Romney are ultimately for.
Ryan will accuse Obama of
lying about Mitt Romney’s tax plan, lying about his Medicare plan, and lying
about his own record.
Ryan will dismiss the
recent 7.8 percent unemployment figures that show the jobless rate dropping as
President Obama promised it would. And to piggyback on that, Paul Ryan will
simply say that President Obama and Vice Pres. Joe Biden have failed to
improve the economy.
So
the question is how will Joe Biden respond to those charges?
We’ll
find out tonight.
LAST
WEEK - The next time Mitt Romney and Barack Obama share the same stage will be
Tuesday, Oct. 16th at 9 p.m.. It will be a Town Hall format, and the
president promises that there will be no repeat of his clearly lackluster
performance during their first debate Oct. 3rd.
So
what exactly was wrong with the president? We all know what was “right” about
Mitt Romney. He was aggressive, focused, had energy, spoke without hesitation,
and basically lied through his teeth about almost everything he said past his
name.
And
it worked, Romney won.
The
president, on the other hand, was the exact opposite in all respects. He had no
fire, did not challenge his Republican opponent to defend either his record or
falsehoods, and did not correct Romney when he was dead wrong on the facts.
The
president pretty much rambled, looked down and smiled a lot. If there was any
of that “I’m here to fight for the American people” grit in him, Obama didn’t
bring it with him to the debate.
Why?
Primarily
because of one consistent trait in Barack Obama - he doesn’t believe in public
confrontation. Obama hated himself in 2008 for allowing his passions and anger
to show during a debate against Hillary Clinton in South Carolina. You’ll recall. Even though it was
riveting stuff, Obama believes that “cool” is always the way to go.
Problem
is there are times when you must rise to the occasion and show some fire,
especially when your opponent is standing right next to you on a stage lying
his mouth off.
Even
Reggie Love, former special assistant
and body man for the president, agrees in an interview I did with him for radio
this week that his former boss didn’t deliver anywhere near his best
performance.
So
we can be certain that for the Oct. 16th debate, that will change.
We will see a looser, more fluent, and more “fire-in-the-belly” version of the
president of the United States.
The
worst thing in the world that could happen in this election is for voters to
think, let alone believe, that you’re not capable of fighting for them,
especially during these tough economic times.
So
memo to Team Obama - SHAPE UP, OR ELSE!
OPRAH/TYLER
PERRY DEAL - Looks like best friends Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry
have made an exclusive deal to steer new TV series and films from Perry’s film
studio to her OWN cable TV network.
That
means the deal that Perry has with Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) will expire
soon. TBS is where Perry has premiered his sitcoms like “House of Payne,” Meet
the Browns” and “For Better or Worse.” “Payne” was TBS’s biggest comedy debut
in the network’s history when it premiered in 2007.
Oprah,
who, as CEO, is slowly but surely building OWN into the successful cable
channel after two years, clearly believes that being the singular place for
Tyler Perry TV shows and movies will propel OWN to higher heights, and prompt
more people to find her channel.
“I have been looking forward to the day when we would be
in the position to enter the world of scripted television. That day has
come,” said Oprah told BlackAmericaWeb.com “We are all energized by the
opportunity to collaborate with Tyler who has a proven track record for
producing highly successful cable series. He has an incredible
ability to illuminate life stories and characters in his unique voice and
inspires and encourages people all over the world.”
“It’s
a dream realized to partner with Oprah and bring scripted programming to OWN,”
Perry said. “She has accomplished so much with the network and I’m excited to
work with her to be a part of its continued growth.”
This
is good because we see two of the most powerful people in the entertainment
business, who just happen to be black, come together in partnership.
As
a people and community, we need to see more of that. We wish Oprah and Tyler
well. They’ve both made an impact.
THE
HATE - Turn on conservative media like Fox News or Rush Limbaugh, and you’ll swear you’re living in the land of the
Klan (Ku Klux, that it is). Even before Pres. Obama’s lackluster debate performance,
you had clowns like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich saying the Obama “is not a real president” on Greta
Van Sustren’s Fox show a few weeks ago.
Former
New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, a
Romney campaign co-chair, told CNN’s Soledad O’Brien that the president was “lazy and detached” from his
job.
And
I don’t have to remind you how much Limbaugh and Sean Hannity absolutely hate
the president, and have no problem saying so.
Of
course it doesn’t stop at statements by dumb right-wingers.
There
was that 2007 video of Obama speaking before a group of black ministers that
Hannity, Matt Drudge and Tucker
Carlson all tried to play up ax some
revelation about the “secret angry black Obama” just because the then senator
adopted a more pronounced black cadence and talked about how the Bush
Administration ignored New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
And,
please, don’t forget the birther stuff, and now the stupid accusations that
Obama somehow fiddled with the 7.8 percent unemployment rate so that it could
come in below eight percent in time for the election.
There
is no question that Obama is perhaps the most hated black man in history, at
least among Republicans.
And
this is because he is also the most powerful black man in history, and the GOP
doesn’t like that one bit. It never was supposed to happen.
And
now that Republican Mitt Romney has evened up the polls after his victorious
debate performance last week, we’re going to be hearing more and more of this
stuff as the right-wing tries to drive the president’s negatives up among white
voters.
So
what can you do or say about it?
Early
voting begins here in North Carolina on Oct. 18th.
‘Nuff
said.
Make sure you tune in
every Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. for my talk radio show, ''Make It Happen''
on Power 750 WAUG-AM, or online at www.myWAUG.com. And read more about my thoughts and opinions
exclusively at my new blog, ‘The Cash Roc” (http://thecashroc.blogspot.com/2011/01/cash-roc-begins.html). I promise it will be interesting.
Cash in the Apple -
honored as the Best Column Writing of 2006 by the National Newspaper Publishers
Association. Columnist Cash Michaels was also honored by the NNPA for Best
Feature Story Journalist of 2009, and was the recipient of the Raleigh-Apex
NAACP’s President’s Award for Media Excellence in Sept. 2011.
Until next week, keep
a smile on your face, GOD in your heart, and The Carolinian in your life. Bye,
bye.
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STATE NEWS BRIEFS
NC STATE FAIR OPENS TODAY
[RALEIGH]
The warm weather is here just in time for the opening of the NC State Fair.
Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to come to the State Fairgrounds to
enjoy the rides, food, fun and agricultural exhibits. Because of various
serious infections contracted by children who touched animals, officials say no
one will be allowed to pet animals this year. The fair will be open for ten
days.
STATE HOUSE CANDIDATE ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED DWI
[MEBANE]
A Democratic candidate for the NC House has been charged with driving while
impaired, according to published reports. Patty Phillips, who is currently a
member of the Mebane City Council, was reportedly arrested on I-40 in
Burlington when she was stopped by a state trooper. Phillips reportedly blew a
.15 percent blood alcohol level when tested. Phillips, who has apologized and
pledges to go on with her campaign, is opposing Republican candidate Steve Ross
for the House District 63 seat.
ONLY TWO CASES, THUS FAR, OF FUNGAL MENINGITUS FOUND IN
NC
[DURHAM]
Out of over 13,000 people nationwide exposed and over 119 cases across nine
states, eleven people, thus far, have died from a fungal meningitis outbreak,
two of which are in North Carolina. The source of the outbreak is said to be
several contaminated lots of an epidural steroid which was injected. Fungal
meningitis is not spread person-to-person. States with the outbreak include
Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Minnesota and
North Carolina.
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NAACP STATE CONVENTION
FOCUSES ON VOTING
Special to The Carolinian
With
the theme, “If We Ever Needed to Vote, We Sure Do Need to Vote Now,” the
three-day 69th Annual NC NAACP State Convention will focus on
empowering voters across the state on voter education, voter protection and
voter mobilization. The convention will serve as a staging ground for youth and
adult leaders from across the state preparing for the final push towards
Same-Day Registration/Early Voting through Election Day.
All
events, besides those on Thursday, Oct. 11th and the Freedom Fund Banquet on
Saturday evening Oct. 13th, will be held at the Hilton North Raleigh/Midtown
Hotel, 3415 Wake Forest Road.
Every
year at State Convention, Thursday's activities are dedicated to the historical
connection between the NAACP and the Church, with Religious Emphasis Day, which
will take place at First Baptist Church, 101 S. Wilmington Street Raleigh, NC.
The convention will then move to the Hilton North Raleigh Hotel for plenaries,
luncheons and other activities. The convention will close with a Freedom Fund
Awards Banquet at the Raleigh Convention Center, 500 South Salisbury Street,
Raleigh, NC on Saturday evening.
Keynote
speakers include Roslyn Brock, chairwoman of the national NAACP Board of Directors.
Brock will address the mass meeting and community worship on the first day of
the state convention this evening, Oct. 11th, 7:30 p.m. at First
Baptist Church in Raleigh.
On
Friday, Oct. 12th, Gov. Beverly Perdue will deliver remarks at the
Political Action Luncheon at the North Raleigh Hilton at 11:45 a.m.
On
Saturday morning at 9:45 a.m.., Rev. Barber will deliver his annual State of
Civil Rights in NC address, and shortly after, hold a press conference
announcing the Million Voters March III, a statewide effort to encourage at
least one million North Carolinians to go to the polls between the start of
early voting Oct. 18, to Election Day November 6th.
NAACP
leaders will also discuss a report and critique of the Tea Party's "True
the Vote" efforts, and announce the NAACP's coalition with lawyers to
ensure voter protection against all forms of intimidation and suppression.
Later
Saturday evening, Benjamin Todd Jealous, president/CEO of the national NAACP,
will deliver the keynote address during the Freedom Fund Banquet held at the
Raleigh Convention Center, starting at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.).
The
Wilmington Ten Pardons of Innocence Project, which the national NAACP voted
last May to support, will also be present to collect signatures asking Gov.
Perdue to grant individual pardons of innocence to the Wilmington Ten.
The
NC NAACP is the second largest state conference in the nation and the largest
in the South. It convenes the Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HKonJ)
People's Coalition, made up of 140+ partner organizations that come together
around a 14-point progressive, nonpartisan legislative agenda. Just this
summer, the HKonJ Coalition was able to fight back and win against right wing
attempts to pass voter ID laws, restrict early voting and other voter
suppression legislation. The NC NAACP is in the courts challenging the most
regressive and race-based redistricting maps since the 19th Century,
passed by the ultra-conservative leadership of the NC General Assembly.
The
organization has engaged in a statewide effort to register 40,000 new voters
for this year's election as a part of the NAACP's "This Is My Vote"
campaign. The NC NAACP is also working with religious leaders across the state
on the 1000:100 Campaign (1000 Churches, Temples and Mosques, 100% Voter
Registration Campaign).
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TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
DURHAM TEEN FOUND SHOT HAS DIED
A
17-year-old teen found shot in a car in Durham Saturday died Tuesday at Duke
Medical Center, Durham police say. The victim, Kaaylon Pamplin, was found
wounded in a vehicle at the corner of Nebo Street and Burlington Avenue. He was
reportedly a student at Hillside High School. Durham police are searching for a
burgundy or red Dodge Magnum with dark tinted windows that may be connected
with the fatal shooting. If you have information, contact Durham crime Stoppers
at 919-683-1200.
SEN. MCCAIN STUMPS FOR ROMNEY IN CARY
Republican
Arizona US Sen. John McCain hit the campaign trail in Cary Tuesday for GOP
presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, speaking a VFW Post 7383. McCain, who was
defeated by Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential campaign, warned that the
Obama Administration was “weak” on foreign policy and national security.
Romney, enjoying a bump in the polls tying him with the president after last
weeks debate, is expected to campaign in North Carolina today.
UNC-CH SEARCH FOR CHANCELLOR BEGINS
With
UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp stepping down in June 2013, the 21-member
UNC Chancellor Search Committee has begun meeting to determine the criteria for
choosing the next leader of North Carolina’s flagship institution. The committee voted to hire Bill Funk, a
Dallas-based consultant, to begin the process of qualifying top candidates for
the position. UNC has had a series of scandals in its football program in
recent years that have cast a pall over the entire university.
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EARLY VOTING BEGINS OCT. 18
Special to The Carolinian
With
the critical Nov 6th presidential elections just less than four
weeks away, voters can get an early start to balloting beginning Thursday, Oct.
18th.
Absentee
voting is already underway in North Carolina, with Republicans casting more
than Democrats by a 2 to 1 ratio. Any registered North Carolina voter can
request an absentee ballot by mail. This type of absentee voting allows a
voter or a near relative or legal guardian to request that an absentee ballot
be sent to the voter by mail. The voter may vote the ballot
and return it to the county board of elections by the ballot return
deadline.
According
to the NC Board of Elections website, One-Stop Early Voting allows registered
voters to go in person to their county board of elections or an alternative
location to vote an absentee ballot. One-stop absentee voting is conducted
starting on the third Thursday (Oct. 18th) before an election and
ends on the last Saturday (November 3rd) before the election.
Absent
uniformed services members (and their eligible dependants) and U.S. citizens
living outside of the United States may request an absentee ballot under the
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). This federal act
and its corresponding law in this state allows unformed service members and
overseas citizens who are absent from their county of residence in North
Carolina to request, receive and return an absentee ballot under special rights
given to them under UOCAVA.
Is
voter ID required in the state of North Carolina?
No.
For most voters, no ID is required. If you are not a first time voter, or at
the time of your initial voter registration, you provided your North Carolina
driver license number or the last four digits of your social security number
and that number was validated, you will not be required to show ID when you
vote. Also, you are not required to show your voter card. However, if you are a
first-time voter and you did not provide your North Carolina driver license or
the last four digits of your social security number when you completed your
voter registration application, or one or both of those numbers could not be
validated, then you will need to provide ID the first time that you vote. If
you are required to show ID, you must provide one the following:
A
current and valid photo identification or
a copy of one of the following
documents that shows your name and address: a current utility bill, bank
statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document.
Note, the ID
that you present does not necessarily need to be a photo ID. Also, it is
intended to show proof of person and not proof of residence; thus, there is no
requirement that your driver license have your current address. If you will be
presenting a form of non-photo ID, such as a utility bill or bank statement,
then your ID will need to show your current name and address. A “current”
document would be any document that is dated within six months of the date that
you are presenting it to an election official.
The requirement
for certain first time voters to show ID is a requirement of the Help America
Vote Act of 2002. This federal law is not unique to North Carolina. It is a
requirement in any state that requires a person to register prior to voting.
First-time voters who are required to show ID will have been previously
notified of this requirement by their County Board of Elections. If you are a
first-time voter who is required to show ID and you do not bring an acceptable
form of ID when you present to vote, you will be offered the opportunity to
vote a provisional ballot. If you vote a provisional ballot, then you will be
responsible for sending or delivering a copy of one of the acceptable forms of
ID to the county board of elections within 6 (most elections) or 9 (general
elections) days. If you fail to provide the county board of elections with a
copy of your ID, then your provisional ballot will not be counted.
To find your
specific polling place, click this link: Check Your Voter
Registration Here. Enter your personal data to display the
name and address of your polling place. Once you know your polling place name,
select your county of residence.
During the time
allowed for absentee voting a disabled or elderly person may request, in
advance, a precinct transfer if he/she finds that the polling place to which
he/she is assigned is inaccessible. A transfer will allow the individual to
vote at the County Board of Elections office. Call your County Board of
Elections for Precinct Transfer details.
Per the ballot, in North Carolina,
straight ticket voting, meaning that you can vote either Democrat or Republican
with just one vote, does not include a vote for president.
You
must first vote for president/vice president, Republican or Democrat,
separately, then move on to vote for other candidates on the front of the
ballot, either individually or straight ticket. Then, you must turn the ballot
over to the other side to vote for all nonpartisan races like judgeships, and
issue referendums, if any.
[FOR WAKE COUNTY]
Early voting sites in Wake County
include the Apex Community Center in Apex; the Cary Senior Center and Herbert
C. Young Community Center in Cary; The falcon Park Hut in Fuquay Varina; the
Avery Street Recreation Center Annex in Garner; the WE Hunt Recreation Center
in Holly Springs; the Knightdale Recreation Center in Knightdale; the Northern
Regional Center in Wake Forest; and in Raleigh, the Chavis Heights Community
Center, Elevation Baptist Church, Lake Lynn Community Center, NCSU Talley
Student Center, Optimist Community Center, Wake Technical Community College
Main Campus and North Campus, and the Wake County Board of Elections, 337 S.
Salisbury Street in downtown Raleigh.
Call the location nearest you for
early voting days and hours of operation. For more information, call the Wake
County Board of Elections at 919-856-6240, or email your voter registration and
election questions to voter@wakegov.com.
[FOR NEW HANOVER COUNTY]
Wilmington early voting sites in
New Hanover County include the MHC Government Center at 230 Government Center
Dr., Suite 38; NHC Senior Center at 2222 S. College Road; CFCC North Campus,
4500 Blue Clay Road, Room 117 in the Applied Technology Building; the NHC
Library, 201 Chestnut Street - 3rd Floor.
In Carolina Beach, the Carolina
Beach Police Training Room, 1121 N. Lake Park Blvd., Town Hall.
For more information, call the New
Hanover Board of Elections at 910-798-7330
Cash
Michaels contributed to this report.
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W-
ELECTION 2012
On
Thursday, Oct. 18th, One Stop Early Voting begins in North Carolina.
That means unless you plan to cast your ballots on Election Day, Nov. 6th,
you’ll have between the 18th of October and the third of November to
do so early.
As
always, this newspaper will make recommendations about the candidates we
endorse for public office. Of course, we hope that our readers and community
are closely following all of the candidates on the ballot, and make their ultimate
choices based on competence and record, not party.
This
is a pivotal election in so many ways, not just for the state, but also for our
nation, and ultimately our children. Our community made history in 2008.
Now,
in 2012, we must secure the future.
Make
sure that you, your friends and family vote. It means that much.
NON-PARTISAN JUDICIAL RACES
On the back of the ballot for
Election 2012 are non-partisan races for judicial seats on the NC Court of
Appeals, and a seat on the NC Supreme Court. These races are extremely
important, too important for our community to ignore. These non-partisan
elections are about who ultimately decides the law on the highest and second
highest levels of jurisprudence in our state.
A close examination of their
experience, judicial temperament and record of decisionmaking is warranted in
order to determine their suitability to serve.
The candidates are all
distinguished incumbents of the bench.
In the case of the three state
appellate judges, there are two women (one black) and two African-Americans.
If they lose, the state Appellate
Court will lose two-thirds of its African-American jurists, and two-thirds of
its female judges. Without appropriate representation on our state’s highest
courts, our community may be hard pressed to find fairness.
So this election is your chance to
make sure that you have your say on who sits on the bench, making many of the
landmark legal decisions in our state.
On the NC Court of Appeals, Judge
Wanda Bryant has
served for almost eleven years there, where she is the fourth most senior
judge. She has written more than 1,200 opinions. She is a former Senior Deputy
Attorney General of North Carolina and a former Assistant US Attorney. She
currently serves as Chair of the Board of Visitors of the North Carolina
Central University School of Law, and she is the recipient of the North
Carolina Press Association’s First Amendment Award.
Judge
Linda McGee has served for 16 years on
the Court of Appeals and she is now the second most senior judge on the Court.
She has heard more than 6,000 cases and has written almost 2,000 opinions.
Previously, she practiced law for 17 years in civil and criminal courts. She
was awarded the NC Bar Association’s Pro Bono Service Award and she serves on
the Chief Justice’s Equal Access to Justice Commission. She co-chaired Lawyers
in Schools and chaired the Civic Education Consortium.
Judge
Cressie Thigpen, serving his second year
on the Court of Appeals, has practiced law for 35 years in civil and criminal
courts in North Carolina. He is a former Special Superior Court judge and is
Past President of the North Carolina State Bar. He is a former member of the
UNC Chapel Hill Board of Trustees and former Chair of the Board of Trustees of
North Carolina Central University. He is a member of the NC Bar Association
Hall of Fame.
In the
race for the NC Supreme Court, current state Appeals Court Judge Sam Ervin IV
was elected to the North Carolina Court of Appeals in November, 2008 and was
sworn in as a Judge on January 1, 2009. As a Judge on the Court of Appeals,
Ervin is responsible for deciding appeals in a wide variety of criminal and
civil cases heard in the District and Superior Courts and decisions made by
various administrative agencies. In his three years on the Court of Appeals,
Judge Ervin has written more than 325 opinions and participated in more than
900 court decisions.
Ervin’s
work as a member of the Utilities Commission and a Judge of the North Carolina
Court of Appeals has been characterized by his in-depth knowledge of the
issues, his devotion to a thorough understanding of the law, and his insistence
on fair treatment for all parties.
The
Wilmington Journal is proud to endorse all of these non-partisan judicial
candidates, and recommends them to you for your consideration when you cast
your ballots starting Oct. 18th.
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