OUR
ENDORSEMENTS
Early
voting is underway from now through Saturday, March 12 at 1 p.m. for the
Tuesday, March 15th primaries. Hours of early voting are Friday, 8
a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday, March 12 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Government
Center – 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 34.
Please check www.elections.nhcgoc.com
for additional locations and their hours, or call 910-798-7330.
Of course,
on Tuesday, March 15th, polls open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30
P.M. for regular primary day voting.
If you are
not registered to vote during this early voting period, you may do so the same
day that you cast your ballot. Please bring an official document like your
utility bill for proof of address for identification. You can only do same-day
registration until March 12. You will not be allowed to register to vote on
March 15th, Primary Day.
You must
also show a photo identification in order to vote, but if you don’t have one,
you will b e required to fill out a form explaining why, and then be allowed to
cast a provisional ballot.
There will
be a second primary for just congressional candidates on Tuesday, June 7th
because the prior 13-district congressional map was ruled unconstitutional, and
the NC General Assembly redrew the map and pushed back the date pending
approval of a federal court.
STATE TREASURER – DANIEL BLUE III
They say the pedigree doesn’t
fall far from the tree, and that certainly is the case with Dan Blue III, The
son of the first African – American Speaker of the NC House, Dan III has
followed closely in his father’s footsteps as an outstanding attorney in Wake
County, once chairman of the Wake County Democratic Party, and a devoted
husband and father. Dan III, like his dad, is known for good judgment and rock
solid common sense. He knows how to look at the issues, and find solutions
beyond the normal partisan nonsense. And most importantly, Dan III is trusted.
He’s his own man and when he gives his word, it’s all anyone needs to go to the
bank with.
That’s why
this newspaper joins with so many others across the state in saying that Dan
Blue III possesses the wisdom and good judgment to manage the office of state
treasurer with integrity and intelligence.
That’s why
we endorse Daniel Blue, III for state
treasurer.
NHC
SCHOOL BOARD – JAMES JAMISON, KEVIN SPEARS AND EMMA SANDERS
With the state of our public
school the way it is, and the many, many challenges that our African-American
children face there everyday, we need school board members who realize that
these precious, young black lives matter without question, or else we have no
future.
That’s why
The Journal endorses James
Jamison, Kevin Spears, and Emma Sanders for NH County Board of Education.
The Black Press of North Carolina has adopted an agenda in education that we
feel should be a part of the Black Lives Matter movement. This agenda
includes (1) The elimination of the infamous “Pipeline
To Prison” that exists in our schools, (2) the elimination of the achievement
gap, (3) the inclusion of Black teachers, administrators, and counselors in our
school systems and community colleges, (4) revival of Schools of Education
in our HBCUs, (5) Stability of our HBCUs (6) careers paths for
our children (especially Black Males) in high schools, community colleges
and (7) full participation of Black children (especially Black
males) in the Early College Programs across the state. We expect that
these three candidates will help to implement this agenda. NO EXCEPTIONS.
CONNECT NC BOND REFERENDUM – NO
No doubt you’ve heard a lot
about the massive $2 billion Connect NC bond referendum, and how it is supposed
to help fund construction needs throughout the 17 campus UNC System, while it’s
also supposed to help dealing with pressing needs at our community colleges,
public safety and water and sewer projects.
Here’s the problem – for all of that
money state taxpayers are being asked to borrow, our historically black
university campuses will see precious little of it, if any at all.
You know the old story – when it
come to making sure that our HBCU’s are equitably funded and fairly treated by
the NC General Assembly, they might a well be foreign countries. In fact,
someone quickly check how much we give in foreign aid. Undoubtedly a tiny island
nation in the South Pacific gets more from the US government that the state of
North Carolina ever has, or ever will, give to one of our excellent black universities, who have
historically had to learn to live with much, much less than the NC States and UNC
– Chapel Hill’s of the world, yet expected to produce the same quality of
student.
It really is quite simple – the
people who think they’re god on the all-Republican UNC Board of Governors, and
consequently the GOP-led NC General Assembly, simply don’t believe in HBCUs,
and would like to see as many of them closed as possible. They feel that the
science and research programs at the so-called “flagship” UNC System schools
are inherently much better, and are more deserving of state support.
Thus, a careful look between the
lines of the Connect NC bond referendum tells you what schools and their
programs will receive considerable support if the $2 billion bonds pass, and
which ones won’t. Want to starve a school out of existence? Just cutoff or
reduce the funding that could help it reach the next level of excellence.
Simple.
The bond is not an inclusive
package. There are inequities that exist in this package as related to
HBCU funding. The bond and two other NC General Assembly bills allow for
cutting HBCU funding, reducing degree programs and making it harder for
students to attend HBCUs. Analysts say the plan even makes HBCUs less
identifiable with their HBCU tradition. The Journal’s readership is well
aware of the importance our HBCUs play in our community and our state, and the
opportunities that afford students across North Carolina. Many of us
would not have degrees had we not had an HBCU to attend. Students deserve
this same opportunity. VOTE NO TO THE BOND ISSUE.
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CASH IN THE APPLE FOR
03-10-16
By Cash Michaels
WHAT AN
ELECTION SEASON! – Did you ever think you would ever live to see the spectacle
that’s going on on the Republican side of the presidential horse race?
Certainly I’m not going to speculate which of the GOP candidates is going to
ultimately be nominated, especially with the March 15th North
Carolina primary happening next week.
But there
can be no question that as Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio
dicker back and forth with all as sundry of personal insults (I deliberately
leave Ohio Gov. John Kasich off this list, even though he’s still in the race,
because unlike his colleagues, Kasich has conducted himself with some dignity),
this corrupted process is going to find a “winner,” however you ultimately
define that at the end of the nominating process.
What I find
fascinating on the Republican end of all of this is voters there seem so
desperate they are willing to nominate anyone who comes through as a doer and
achiever. Normally, that is a bad thing, but usually those attributes would be
couched in something that lends itself to governance, like the military for
example.
But we have
no military veterans for president this year, so the next, best thing, in the
minds of many, is a flamboyant, loudmouth billionaire who apparently will stoop
to any level to throw mud on his competitors, all the while assuring that
“America will be great again.”
I mentioned
how desperate voters who support this candidate are. When I see evangelicals
and born-again Christians supporting this person, knowing full well that he has
lived anything but a godly life, I’m just floored. They are willing to trade in
their biblical principles just to elect someone who ordinarily has no respect
for their way of life.
And why is
this? Simple, it all started when we elected a black president.
See if this
makes sense now. In 2008, the majority of Americans elected a black Democratic
president on the premise of hope and
change. They saw a more hopeful, equal and tolerate in the future, and electing
the first black president was a step in the right direction, or so they
thought.
But after
other Americans decided that they didn’t like the kind of change he was
bringing about, they elected people to Congress to stop him, and stop him they
did. Not only did they freeze his agenda, but tried mightily to undo much of
what he already did.
The end
result was that nothing got done.
In 2012,
supporters of the president decided that he had earned a second-term, and
re-elected him to office. However, the Congress fell even deeper into
opposition hands. The president decided that he would try to accomplish as much
as possible on his own without the cooperation of Congress. Congress didn’t
like it, and began shutting down the government and taking him to court to
force the president to do things their way. But at the end of the day, Congress
could only flex but so much muscle, and this frustrated their supporters.
That brings
us to the 2016 presidential election, and angry voters now intent on getting
their way no matter what, meaning even if it means electing someone who clearly
has no business in the office.
And get
this, these same folks who were all for shutting down the government in order
to make sure nothing got done, are now complaining that they want a president
who will get things done for them.
So we now
come face –to-face with the fact that elections matter – ALL elections.
Normally folks saw that divided government is good because it forces
All sides to compromise, but the last few years have proven
anything but. Divided government has instead created stalemate, where one side
takes pride in stopping the agenda of the other, no matter what kind of harm it
causes the rest of us.
That is the
kind of “government” (if you want to call it that) that we have now, and it can
be argued that the nation can’t progress accordingly. That means that all of us
have some critical decisions to make this election – are we a nation that wants to progress together so that all
of our children can benefit, or are we going to insist the world revolve around
solely our individual values, and neber mind the citizenship and rights of
others?
When we go
to vote in the primaries next week, and again in the general election in
November, those are the kind of questions we must answer with our votes. GOD
help us.
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.waug-network.com. And read more about my
thoughts and opinions exclusively at my blog, ‘The Cash Roc” (http://thecashroc.blogspot.com/2011/01/cash-roc-begins.html).
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.
-30-
HOLDER SAYS CLINTON
IS RIGHT CHOICE FOR
PRESIDENT
By Cash Michaels
editor
For four
years, as US attorney general, he sat next to her in her role as US secretary
of State in the Situation Room, watching as the president peppered her with tough
questions about crucial foreign operations.
Indeed,
Eric Holder says he’s known Hillary Rodham Clinton for 25 years from his days
as US attorney for the Washington, D.C.
district, and throughout that time, and especially during the years they
served together during the Obama presidency, Holder says he’s known Clinton to
possess all of the skills and talents of a “great” president.
“Hillary
has shown that she has the vision, she has the passion, she has the experience
to not be a good president, but I think a great president,” Holder told The Carolinian Tuesday exclusively during a call from Washington, D.C.
“I think
she is the person who is best at defending the progress we’ve made in the Obama
Administration, and protecting the Obama legacy. She’s ready to tackle a whole
range of issues, whether it’s criminal justice reform, protecting the right to
vote, a sane and safe foreign policy. There are a whole host of reasons why,
based on the experience that’s she’s had, and the vision that she has shown,
that she will be, I think, a great president, especially when you contrast her
to the potential persons that she will be running against – Donald Trump and
people on the Republican side.”
“I think
the choice is obvious.”
Holder, the
first African-American to serve as US attorney general in history, is unabashed
in his support of former Sec. of State Clinton as the North Carolina
presidential primaries approach next Tuesday, March 15th.
Former
Pres. Bill Clinton has been in the state since Monday, and Mrs. Clinton herself is scheduled to make a number of
campaign stops statewide today. Polls show Mrs. Clinton leading her Democratic
primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, in the state, as she hopes to
continue winning states with large black Democratic voting populations.
Currently Clinton holds a decisive lead over Sanders in the total delegate
count thus far.
There was
no word at press time Tuesday as to when Sen. Sanders would be scheduling
campaign stops in North Carolina prior to the March 15th primaries.
The
importance of North Carolina in the race to the White House isn’t lost
on Republican candidates, as Donald Trump held a rally in
Concord on Monday, and strong second-place challenger Sen. Ted Cruz [R-TX]
campaigned in the state Tuesday.
Holder says
that Clinton uses good judgment when it
comes to foreign policy, not interested in involving the nation in wars unless
it is clear that the national security of the country is at stake. Holder adds
that there is no question that Clinton is tough.
“She’s a
good person, funny to be around, but when necessary, she goes there,” Holder
makes clear, adding that she’s as “tough as necessary.”
Holder
believes that the surest way to stop Republican from rolling back any gains
from the Obama Administration is to election Hillary Clinton, especially in the
areas of civil rights, voting rights, and deciding the future of the US Supreme
Court.
Holder says
Hillary Clinto has a ‘long history” with the African-American community,
starting with the Children’s Defense Fund, working for issues of fairness in
education, and helping to develop good paying jobs.
Holder says
much as been made of then First Lady Hillary Clinton in 1996 making a speech where she called on
“bringing superpredators to heel” and her support of her husband’s 1994 crime
bill which led to a mass incarceration of African-Americans.
Holder
reminds all that Hillary Clinton was one of many voices back in the mid 1990s
who were calling on local, state and the federal governments to do more to
protect citizens, especially in the inner city, during the ultra-violent crack
wars, where street gangs, seeking to protect their territories, engaged in a
level of violence, mayhem and bloodshed that literally saw local police
departments make to the move to militarization in order to take back the
streets.
The stories
were replete of elderly women being both raped and robbed in their homes by cracked-up
young perpetrators, and local police departments doing every they could get a
handle of the outbreak. Even civil rights leader Jesse Jackson publicly
expressed fear of walking down the street and seeing two young males following
him.
Pres.
Clinton has since apologized for the 1994 crime bill and how it negatively
impacted the black community, and Mrs. Clinton has acknowledged that if she
could take back her fierce language of
the time she would. Holder, who was US attorney in Washington, D.C. at the time
and recalls it being called “the murder capital,” agrees that the crime bill
went too far in retrospect, but assures that Mrs. Clinton is devoted to
developing fairer measures of criminal justice reform.
Sen. Bernie
Sanders has campaigned quite well on his pledge of campaign finance reform,
reeling in the wealth and influence of Wall Street, and promising free college
and expanded universal health care if elected. Prominent African-Americans like
former NAACP Pres. Benjamin Jealous, civil rights activist Dr. Cornel West,
filmmaker Spike Lee, rapper Killer Mike, and former Ohio state Senator Nina Turner,
among others, are backing Sanders because of his call to address income
inequality.
That issue,
among others, have made Sen. Sanders very popular with young African-Americans
and young women.
Holder says
at the end of the day, former Sec. of State Clinton’s wealth of experience as
First Lady, US senator and being trusted by Pres. Obama to manage his foreign
policy agenda, is why he’s supporting her for president.
“She has
the ability to bring people together,” Mr. Holder said.
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BUTTERFIELD SAYS
REDISTRICTING
DECISION SHOULD COME
SOON
By Cash Michaels
Editor
Unless the US
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decides otherwise, June 7 is the new primary date
for congressional races in North Carolina. That would mean the federal court
approved the new redistricting maps drawn by the Republican-led NC General
Assembly several weeks ago, and that would not make First District Democratic
Congressional G. K. Butterfield happy at all.
As far as
Rep. Butterfield is concerned, whereas the previous 2011 voting districts for
the First and Twelfth districts – which were struck down as unconstitutional - depended too much on “stacking and packing” a
lion share of black voters, making it easier for Republican candidates to beat
white Democratic hopefuls in swing
districts, the new maps don’t take race into account at all. Instead, they’re
drawn to ensure Republican partisan advantage, effectively protecting the 10-3
GOP congressional advantage. Republicans have now made clear that race has been
completely eliminated from the criteria.
“That is
not the law, that is not what the Voting Rights Act says, that is not what the
court decisions have required,” Rep. Butterfield says, noting that with the
Legislature not employing race as a factor at all in the newly drawn maps, it
has made it least likely an African-American will be elected to represent a
congressional district if the federal court approves the new district.
The black
voting population in the First District has now been reduced from 52 percent,
to 44 percent. In the Twelfth District, currently represented by Rep. Alma
Adams, everything has been redrawn to submerge Greensboro and Winston-Salem now
into majority Republican district.
Rep.
Butterfield says if the federal courts allow the new lines to remain, if the
Republicans in the state Legislature remain in the majority in 2021, “they will
have a field day” maintaining their political advantage when it comes time to
draw new maps for the next decade.
“They will
drawn these districts to maximize their advantage,” Rep. Butterfield said.
Legal briefs have been flying back and forth between the plaintiffs who
originally filed suit against the 2011 districts, and attorneys for the state
defending the new lines. Rep. Butterfield says plaintiffs aren’t just
challenging the maps, but the new criteria that eliminates race entirely.
“All of
this was intentional. Republicans knew what they were doing. It’s about
maintaining power, and that’s why we’ve got to find a way to reclaim control of
the NC Legislature,” Rep. Butterfield says.
Arguments
are scheduled to be heard in federal court on Friday, Butterfield says, “and we
should have a decision next week.” If the court upholds the new map, the
congressional primaries will be held on June 7. Rep. Butterfield says turnout
is likely to be very low.
“That’s not
good,” Rep. Butterfield says.
-30-
TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
03-10-16
POLICE REPORT SAYS
DENKINS PULLED GUN
According to a report by Raleigh
Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown released last week, Akiel Denkins, 24, pulled
a gun as Senior Officer D,C. Twiddy approached him during a confrontation on
Bragg and East streets Feb. 29th.
Twiddy, upon seeing Denkins on the corner in front of P.J.’s Grill &
Groceries, began a foot pursuit after attempting to serve a felony drug arrest
warrant.
Chief Deck-Brown’s
reports says Officer Twiddy caught up with Denkins behind P.J.’s, and a
struggle ensued. Twiddy says he saw Denkins reaching for a handgun from his
waistband. As Denkins began moving the gun towards Officer Twiddy, Twiddy
pulled his service weapon, the report says, and fired several shots. Upon
realizing that Denkins was also making contact with his service weapon, Officer
Twiddy says he stepped back and fired several more shots, hitting Denkins.
Twiddy indicates that Denkins still had a gun in his hand.
A
preliminary autopsy shows that Denkins was struck four times, including once in
the chest.
The police
chief’s report differs sharply from eyewitness accounts that Denkins was
chased, and then shot unarmed several times in the back by Officer Twiddy.
Akiel
Denkins was laid to rest Friday during funeral services. The NCNAACP has asked
that any other witnesses who saw what happened please come forward.
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 03-10-16
STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 03-10-16
ATTY GEN LYNCH SAYS
NO TO HIGH COURT NOMINATION
[WASHINGTON,
DC] Despite rampant speculation that Pres. Obama could nominate her to the US
Supreme Court vacancy, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch now says take her name
off of the list. A Justice Dept. spokesperson said Lynch was honored to be
serving in her current capacity, and committed to doing so for the remainder of
her term. The spokesperson added that Lynch felt being nominated would hinder her
effectiveness as attorney general. Many supporters felt that she would be a
good choice to fill the vacancy left upon the death of US Supreme Court
Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.
HILLARY CLINTON TO
VISIT TWO TRIANGLE HIGH SCHOOLS
[RALEIGH]
Former US Sec. of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to hold campaign rallies
at Hillside High School in Durham and Broughton High School in Raleigh later
this afternoon after part of her swing through the state in preparation for
next Tuesday’s North Carolina primaries. Clinton will rally at Hillside at 3;50
p.m., and then at Broughton High at 5:45. The doors will open two hours in
advance for both events. Pres. Bill Clinton toured the state earlier this week
speaking on behalf of his wife. At press time there was no word on any
appearances by Mrs. Clinton’s Democratic rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
STUDENT DEMONSTRATORS
PRESSURE AG COOPER TO HELP FREE KALVIN SMITH
[RALEIGH]
On Monday, student organizers from Winston-Salem State University, Wake Forest
University and Salem College gathered in front of the NC Dept. of Justice
building with a banner signed by over 200 students, seeking to speak to state
Attorney General Roy Cooper about the Kalvin Smith case. Smith, 44, is a black
man supporters say was wrongfully convicted of a 1995 brutal beating at the Silk
Plant Forest shop. Evidence shows that Smith was nowhere shop at the time of
the assault, but in 1997 he was convicted and sentenced to 29 years in prison,
19 of which he has already served. Protestors was Cooper to join with Smith’s
defense in asking the court to vacate the conviction and grant a new trial. The
AG’s office has thus far refused to do so.
-30-
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