VIRGO SCHOOL CHARTER APPLICATION REJECTED
By Cash Michaels
Staff writer
There’s been in a bump in the road to turn the former D.C. Virgo Middle School into a charter school.
On Wednesday, the 15-member NC Public Charter School Advisory Council denied the Virgo application made by New Hanover County Public Schools and the nonprofit Blue Ribbon Commission to turn it formally into D.C. Virgo Urban Prep Academy. According to an NHCSS Supt. Dr. Tim Markley, a lack of specificity on who would serve on the charter school’s board, and under what bylaws the school would be governed by, was part of the reason what the Virgo application was not considered complete.
Because the Virgo application was fast-tracked, officials had hoped, if approved, it could be opened in the fall of 2012. The Virgo application was one of 27 submitted to the charter advisory Council for review.
It was the only one from New Hanover County, and the only one where a public school system partnered with a nonprofit organization.
NHCSS formally closed D.C. Virgo Middle School earlier this year.
Three subcommittees of the NC Public Charter School Advisory Council - made up of 15 members appointed by the governor, the state superintendent and the General Assembly - reportedly reviewed submissions on Tuesday, making recommendations to the full body Wednesday.
If the Virgo application, which passed initial review, was approved by the Council, then it would have been recommended to the State Board of Education in January, which would have until March 15th to give final approval.
“Obviously we are disappointed that it was not approved as a charter school, “Dr. Tim Markley, superintendent of New Hanover County Schools, aid in a statement. “However, we do not consider this an end of the project. We will tweak what we are doing to fit a public school model and move forward.”
Markley added that despite the setback, the Blue Ribbon Commission partnership remains strong.
“I value our partnership with the Blue Ribbon Commission and we are committed to making this school partnership work and to opening it in the fall of 2012,” he said.
Markley added he will discuss remaining options for the academy with the school board in January. He wants what would have been the charter school board to now become an advisory board.
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WELCOME HOME, TROOPS - President Obama, accompanied by by First Lady Michelle Obama, welcomes the troops home from Iraq Wednesday during ceremonies at Fort Bragg. The president said the role American troops played in ending the war after nine years was "historic."
[WILMINGTON JOURNAL VERSION]
2011: YEAR OF CONFRONTATION PART 1 OF 3
by Cash Michaels
editor
It was a year of great loss, and great political showdowns. And as it draws to a close, the nation, and the African-American community are left to wonder what it all meant for the future of the nation, and the world.
In this first of three parts, we look back at 2011, the highs and lows that impacted all of us through a black perspective, to see what it all means as we also look ahead to what promises to be an extraordinary and historic year in 2012, when North Carolina becomes the first and only state ever to host the re-nomination of an African-American as president of the United States.
JANUARY
Former NC State Auditor Ralph Campbell Jr, 64, dies after a long bout with cancer. Retired US Army Brigadier General Anthony Tata, hired in December 2010 as the new Wake Public School System superintendent, begins his tenure amid controversy by the Republican-led Wake School Board, which is intent on implementing its neighborhood schools policy.
In Arizona, a crazed gunman at a shopping center kills six people, including a six-year-old child, and critically injures US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Giffords, who was shot in the brain, would make a remarkable recovery through intense rehabilitation later in the year. Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, decides not to run for re-election.
A North Carolina woman, who allegedly kidnapped an infant child from Harlem Hospital in 1987, turned herself into the FBI in Connecticut, confessing to the crime. The ABC Board in New Hanover County is the target of both state and federal probes, confirmed the NC Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.
According to Public Policy Polling, 49 percent of North Carolinians favor President Barack Obama, while 47 percent disapprove.
After eight contentious years, Keith Olbermann leaves MSNBC, and six months later continues his popular “Countdown” program on the fledgling Current TV cable channel.
And talk show queen Oprah Winfrey premieres her Oprah Winfrey Network cable channel as the countdown for the end of her popular syndicated TV talk show begins.
FEBRUARY
First Lady Michelle Obama officially announces that Charlotte will be the site of the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Raleigh City Council voted to ban smoking in city-owned parks. Police can now legally do DNA swabs of all suspects arrested for violent crimes, and keep the results in a statewide database.
The new Republican-led NC General Assembly convenes, promising to make massive budget cuts, and to pass a voter ID law that would restrict voters of color, young people and the elderly. In Egypt, the citizenry rise up amid violence to take control of their government from long time dictator President Hosni Mubarek.
A white supremacist group threatens to take legal action against the city of Charlotte, alleging that two city officials convince the Sheraton Hotel there to cancel the booking for the group’s conference.
In Ohio, a black mother is jailed because she sent her daughter to a better public school outside the district they legally live in. In Raleigh, the NCNAACP and its coalition partners, joined by national NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, conducts the fifth annual HK on J March and Rally.
US Census shows blacks are moving back down South from the North in record numbers since 1960. Black leaders, however, fear that with the Republican-takeover of Congress in the November 2010 midterm elections, GOP-led legislatures across the nation will redrawn their voting districts to limit black voting strength for the 2012 presidential elections.
National unemployment figures show 34.5 percent of black males are jobless.
Herman Cain, a black Republican 2012 presidential hopeful, blasts liberals for wanting to make America weak.
In a pre-Super Bowl interview, Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly tells Pres. Obama that people “hate” him, and the Green Bay Packers defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.
MARCH
Garner High School’s Scotty McCreery makes the first cut on the popular “American Idol” television show. Shaw University wins both the men’s and women’s championship at the CIAA basketball Tournament in Charlotte. The National Hockey League All-Star Weekend draws 19,000 to Raleigh, spending $11.4 million in the area.
NC State Wolfpack basketball Coach Sidney Lowe resigns.
The Lady Shaw Bears fall to Metro State in their first NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance. Still, Gov. Beverly Perdue honors all of the championship Shaw Bears teams to the Governor’s Mansion.
80’s disco singer Loleatta Holloway dies at age 64.
Geraldine Ferraro, first woman ever to run on a national ticket for president of the United States in 1984 with Walter Mondale, dies at 75.
Polls show North Carolinians split on Obamacare, with 41 percent for and 39 percent against. The NCNAACP brings buses of members from across the state to lobby the Republican-led General Assembly not to drastically cut the budget for the poor, or implement a voter ID law.
Parts of Japan are devastated in the aftermath of a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, as 30-foot waves destroyed villages and cities, thousands of people killed, and several nuclear power plants are damaged, spreading radiation.
President Barack Obama orders US planes to join in coalition with other NATO nations in bombing the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Khadafi.
Democratic support grows for a bi-partisan bill to pardon Gov. William Holden, the first NC governor ever to be impeached from office 140 years ago.
Millionaire Donald Trump hammers Pres. Obama about his birth certificate, and hints that he may run for president.
Sandra Dubose-Gibson, who suffers from a hair loss disease, becomes the first bald woman to be crowned Mrs. Black North Carolina.
APRIL
Famed Black Studies scholar Dr. Manning Marable dies at age 60.
Popular ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott, a UNC-Chapel Hill alum, is reportedly battling cancer.
Tornadoes strike parts of North Carolina, and damaging the campuses of Shaw University and St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh.
Amid battles with the Republican-led Congress over budget cuts and a possible government shutdown, Pres. Obama is also under fire from members of the Congressional Black Caucus for ignoring black unemployment and other issues.
NCNAACP and other progressive groups blast a state House bill to repeal the 2009 NC Racial Justice Act.
In an exclusive interview, interim chair of the Democratic National Committee, Donna Brazile, urged African-Americans to continue to support President Barack Obama, even if at times, they find themselves disagreeing with his policies.
Presenting a copy of his original long form birth certificate, President Obama tells reporters it was time for the birther “silliness” to end, and he called people like Donald Trump “carnival barkers” for pushing it.
Rev. Al Sharpton and Prof. Cornel West angrily argue on MSNBC over what Pres. Obama has done for the African-American community. Filmmakers Spike Lee and Tyler Perry also snipe back and forth, with Lee calling some of Perry’s characters like Madea “coonery,” and Perry responding that Lee should “Go straight to hell.” Later in the year, Perry is named one of the richest people in Hollywood.
Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker announces that he will not seek an unprecedented sixth term in office.
Hundreds of teachers and employees with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public School System begin to get emailed layoff notices.
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[CAROLINIAN VERSION]
2011: YEAR OF CONFRONTATION PART 1 OF 3
by Cash Michaels
editor
It was a year of great loss, and great political showdowns. And as it draws to a close, the nation, and the African-American community are left to wonder what it all meant for the future of the nation, and the world.
In this first of three parts, we look back at 2011, the highs and lows that impacted all of us through a black perspective, to see what it all means as we also look ahead to what promises to be an extraordinary and historic year in 2012, when North Carolina becomes the first and only state ever to host the re-nomination of an African-American as president of the United States.
JANUARY
Former NC State Auditor Ralph Campbell Jr, 64, dies after a long bout with cancer. Retired US Army Brigadier General Anthony Tata, hired in December 2010 as the new Wake Public School System superintendent, begins his tenure amid controversy by the Republican-led Wake School Board, which is intent on implementing its neighborhood schools policy.
In Arizona, a crazed gunman at a shopping center kills six people, including a six-year-old child, and critically injures US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Giffords, who was shot in the brain, would make a remarkable recovery through intense rehabilitation later in the year. Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, decides not to run for re-election.
The Washington Post reports that the Wake School Board is backed by the Tea Party and abolishing school integration. That prompted Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert to mock the board on national television for “Readin, ‘Ritin and Resegregatin,” and US Secretary Arne Duncan to write that what the Wake School Board was doing was “troubling.”
Amid the threat of having all 24 system high schools not accredited, Wake School Board Chairman Ron Margiotta five other board members, reluctantly agrees to allow the international schools accreditation agency, AdvancED, to come in and probe a racial bias complaint filed against the board by the NCNAACP.
A North Carolina woman, who allegedly kidnapped an infant child from Harlem Hospital in 1987, turned herself into the FBI in Connecticut, confessing to the crime. The ABC Board in New Hanover County is the target of both state and federal probes, confirmed the NC Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.
According to Public Policy Polling, 49 percent of North Carolinians favor President Barack Obama, while 47 percent disapprove.
After eight contentious years, Keith Olbermann leaves MSNBC, and six months later continues his popular “Countdown” program on the fledgling Current TV cable channel.
And talk show queen Oprah Winfrey premieres her Oprah Winfrey Network cable channel as the countdown for the end of her popular syndicated TV talk show begins.
FEBRUARY
First Lady Michelle Obama officially announces that Charlotte will be the site of the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Raleigh City Council voted to ban smoking in city-owned parks. Police can now legally do DNA swabs of all suspects arrested for violent crimes, and keep the results in a statewide database.
The new Republican-led NC General Assembly convenes, promising to make massive budget cuts, and to pass a voter ID law that would restrict voters of color, young people and the elderly. In Egypt, the citizenry rise up amid violence to take control of their government from long time dictator President Hosni Mubarek.
A white supremacist group threatens to take legal action against the city of Charlotte, alleging that two city officials convince the Sheraton Hotel there to cancel the booking for the group’s conference. Raleigh Police Chief Harry Dolan confirmed that his Internal Affairs Division is investigating allegations that some officers were having sex with a known prostitute on Bragg Street in Southeast Raleigh.
In Ohio, a black mother is jailed because she sent her daughter to a better public school outside the district they legally live in. In Raleigh, the NCNAACP and its coalition partners, joined by national NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, conducts the fifth annual HK on J March and Rally.
US Census shows blacks are moving back down South from the North in record numbers since 1960. Black leaders, however, fear that with the Republican-takeover of Congress in the November 2010 midterm elections, GOP-led legislatures across the nation will redrawn their voting districts to limit black voting strength for the 2012 presidential elections.
After dismissing it when it was first introduced in July 2010, conservatives on the Wake School Board begin to embrace the idea of a school choice plan for the system.
National unemployment figures show 34.5 percent of black males are jobless.
Herman Cain, a black Republican 2012 presidential hopeful, blasts liberals for wanting to make America weak.
In a pre-Super Bowl interview, Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly tells Pres. Obama that people “hate” him, and the Green Bay Packers defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl.
MARCH
Garner High School’s Scotty McCreery makes the first cut on the popular “American Idol” television show. Shaw University wins both the men’s and women’s championship at the CIAA basketball Tournament in Charlotte. The National Hockey League All-Star Weekend draws 19,000 to Raleigh, spending $11.4 million in the area.
NC State Wolfpack basketball Coach Sidney Lowe resigns.
The Lady Shaw Bears fall to Metro State in their first NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance. Still, Gov. Beverly Perdue honors all of the championship Shaw Bears teams to the Governor’s Mansion.
80’s disco singer Loleatta Holloway dies at age 64.
Geraldine Ferraro, first woman ever to run on a national ticket for president of the United States in 1984 with Walter Mondale, dies at 75.
Polls show North Carolinians split on Obamacare, with 41 percent for and 39 percent against. The NCNAACP brings buses of members from across the state to lobby the Republican-led General Assembly not to drastically cut the budget for the poor, or implement a voter ID law.
Parts of Japan are devastated in the aftermath of a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami, as 30-foot waves destroyed villages and cities, thousands of people killed, and several nuclear power plants are damaged, spreading radiation.
President Barack Obama orders US planes to join in coalition with other NATO nations in bombing the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Khadafi.
A report by the AdvancED school accreditation agency details how Republicans on the Wake School Board, upon taking over in 2009, had no plan for handling the high poverty schools that their neighborhood schools policy would create. AdvancEd places the school system on “accredited warn” status, and directs the board to have its governance issues fixed in time for a Nov. 30th review.
Democratic support grows for a bi-partisan bill to pardon Gov. William Holden, the first NC governor ever to be impeached from office 140 years ago.
Corey A. Moore is appointed principal of new Walnut Creek Elementary School, a high poverty school that will be opened in Southeast Raleigh in August. Moore gets a four-figure signing bonus, a sign of the tough task ahead.
Millionaire Donald Trump hammers Pres. Obama about his birth certificate, and hints that he may run for president.
Sandra Dubose-Gibson, who suffers from a hair loss disease, becomes the first bald woman to be crowned Mrs. Black North Carolina.
Despite having earlier told federal officials probing a NCNAACP racial bias complaint that the school system did not keep records on how many children were bused for diversity, two weeks later, the Wake School Board issues a report to the Office of Civil Rights Division of the US Dept. of Education showing numbers and percentages of WCPSS students who are bused. The board’s report, which is later found to be factually incorrect, also suggests that black students who are bused the farthest, do worse in school.
APRIL
Famed Black Studies scholar Dr. Manning Marable dies at age 60.
Popular ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott, a UNC-Chapel Hill alum, is reportedly battling cancer.
Tornadoes strike parts of North Carolina, damaging the campuses of Shaw University and St. Augustine’s College.
Amid battles with the Republican-led Congress over budget cuts and a possible government shutdown, Pres. Obama is also under fire from members of the Congressional Black Caucus for ignoring black unemployment and other issues.
NCNAACP and other progressive groups blast a state House bill to repeal the 2009 NC Racial Justice Act.
NC Appellate Court rules that the Wake School Board violated the state’s Open Meetings law when it public access to its March 23,2010 board meeting.
In an exclusive interview, interim chair of the Democratic National Committee, Donna Brazile, urged African-Americans to continue to support President Barack Obama, even if at times, they find themselves disagreeing with his policies.
Presenting a copy of his original long form birth certificate, President Obama tells reporters it was time for the birther “silliness” to end, and he called people like Donald Trump “carnival barkers” for pushing it.
Rev. Al Sharpton and Prof. Cornel West angrily argue on MSNBC over what Pres. Obama has done for the African-American community. Filmmakers Spike Lee and Tyler Perry also snipe back and forth, with Lee calling some of Perry’s characters like Madea “coonery,” and Perry responding that Lee should “Go straight to hell.” Later in the year, Perry is named one of the richest people in Hollywood.
Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker announces that he will not seek an unprecedented sixth term in office.
Hundreds of teachers and employees with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public School System begin to get emailed layoff notices.
Wake Schools Supt. Anthony Tata has a team developing several drafts of a proposed student assignment plan.
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STATE NEWS BRIEFS
GOV. PERDUE VETOES REPEAL OF RACIAL JUSTICE ACT
[RALEIGH] In the aftermath of the General Assembly voting to repeal the NC Racial Justice Act, Gov Beverly Perdue decided Wednesday to veto that repeal, setting up a political showdown with Republicans.
In a statement, the governor said:
“I am – and always will be – a strong supporter of the death penalty. I firmly believe that some crimes are so heinous that no other punishment is adequate. As long as I am Governor, I am committed to ensuring that the death penalty remains a viable punishment option in North Carolina in appropriate cases. However, because the death penalty is the ultimate punishment, it is essential that it be carried out fairly and that the process not be infected with prejudice based on race. I signed the Racial Justice Act into law two years ago because it ensured that racial prejudice would not taint the application of the death penalty.”
In a statement, the governor said:
“I am – and always will be – a strong supporter of the death penalty. I firmly believe that some crimes are so heinous that no other punishment is adequate. As long as I am Governor, I am committed to ensuring that the death penalty remains a viable punishment option in North Carolina in appropriate cases. However, because the death penalty is the ultimate punishment, it is essential that it be carried out fairly and that the process not be infected with prejudice based on race. I signed the Racial Justice Act into law two years ago because it ensured that racial prejudice would not taint the application of the death penalty.”
“I am vetoing Senate Bill 9 for the same reason that I signed the Racial Justice Act two years ago: it is simply unacceptable for racial prejudice to play a role in the imposition of the death penalty in North Carolina.”
“Finally, it is important to be clear that the Racial Justice Act does not allow anyone to be released from prison or seek parole. Both my own legal counsel and legal experts from across the State have assured me that even if an inmate succeeds on a claim under the Racial Justice Act, his sole remedy is life in prison without the possibility of parole -- and even that would only occur if a judge first finds that racial discrimination played a significant role in the application of the death penalty."
“Finally, it is important to be clear that the Racial Justice Act does not allow anyone to be released from prison or seek parole. Both my own legal counsel and legal experts from across the State have assured me that even if an inmate succeeds on a claim under the Racial Justice Act, his sole remedy is life in prison without the possibility of parole -- and even that would only occur if a judge first finds that racial discrimination played a significant role in the application of the death penalty."
On Monday, Perdue met with the families of murder victims for and against the 2009 law that allowed death row defendants to challenger their sentencing if they can prove racial bias. District attorneys from across the state urged Perdue to uphold the repeal. The Republicans will use it against her in her re-election bid in 2012. The NCNAACP and other progressive groups have urged her to veto the repeal.
NCAE CALL FOR BOYCOTT OF ART POPE-OWNED STORES
[RALEIGH] He is known as the man who bankrolled the Republican takeovers of the 2009 Wake County School Board, and the 2010 NC General Assembly. National publications have singled him out as one of the most powerful political figures in North Carolina. And now, members of the North Carolina Association of Educators have called on shoppers to boycott the businesses of conservative financier Art Pope. Pope, a former NC lawmaker, owns Variety Wholesalers, which operates eight retail outlets including Roses, Maxway, Super 10, Bargain Town, Bill’s Dollar Store, Value Mart, Treasure Mart and Super Dollar stores. Some of Pope’s stores are in the black community.
TEEN PREGNANCY DOWN IN NC
[GREENSBORO] Teenage pregnancy has plummeted in North Carolina, with recent figures showing the rate being the lowest in 30 years. According to the state Centers for Health Statistics, the teen pregnancy rate dropped 50 percent in 2010. Researchers credit the drop to less teen sexual activity, more use of contraceptives, and better outreach on pertinent preventative information.
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NNPA STORIES - OLDFIELD DUKES DIES AT 79
GINGRICH EXPLOITS POOR CHILDREN
ACTIVISTS GATHER FOR ABU-JAMAL
TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
EL-AMIN ANNOUNCES FOR NEW NC HOUSE 38 SEAT
Former Raleigh Human Relations Chair Abeni El-Amin, currently executive director of Project Ricochet, has announced that she is a candidate for the newly drawn NC House 38 seat, provided the new redistricting map withstands legal challenge. “"I know the lines could change again, and if the current maps are still used or completely new maps are drawn, I will not challenge either Representative Ross or Gill, who have both done an excellent job representing our community,” El Amin said.
OBAMA NAMES FREELON TO US COMMISSION ON FINE ARTS
President Obama, who, along with First Lady Michelle Obama, visited returning troops from Iraq at Fort Bragg Wednesday, appointed famed Durham architect Phillip Freelon, president of the Freelon Group, to a four-year term on the US Commission on Fine Arts. The commission advises the president and Congress on aesthetic issues governing the District of Columbia, as will as coins produced by the US Mint. Freelon’s architectural work includes Raleigh - Durham International Airport, Hillside High School, and the Sonja Haynes Stone Cultural Center at UNC-Chapel Hill.
CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO NAACP OPPOSES CHARTER SCHOOL
The local NAACP branch has joined with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School System in opposing the application for a charter school in the area from a for-profit Michigan group, saying that charter schools pull resources from public schools, and the public knows little about the proposed facility. National Heritage Academies is the for-profit Michigan group making application. It runs 71 schools in nine states. The school board is scheduled to address the issue this evening.
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CASH IN THE APPLE
By Cash Michaels
EDDIE AND SPIKE - By now you know that Oscar nominated actor/comedian Eddie Murphy is teaming up with Oscar-nominated director Spike Lee, for an HBO film about former Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry.
Needless to say, Mayor Barry’s political and personal lives were controversial, indeed, the most prominent being the target of an FBI undercover sting that saw Barry smoking crack cocaine in a hotel room in 1990. He went to prison, and upon his release, was elected to the D.C. City Council.
Murphy, whose last dramatic role was in 2006’s “Dreamgirls,” should be able to get his teeth into this colorful role, an expect that Spike, who has directed a plethora of dramatic actors including Denzel Washington, will get a great performance.
We’ll see.
FALLING GRACEFULLY - Last year when ABC News grabbed CNN foreign correspondent Christiane Amanpour to replace George Stephanopoulos on the network’s “This Week” Sunday program, I couldn’t see the sense in it. It made no sense. Amanpour mastered in foreign news and foreign polcy, not Washington politics. Why would someone outside of New York be drawn to watching her every Sunday.
Apparently the ABC News suits thought differently, so they installed her.
The result - “This Week” became a ratings bomb. Amanpour did not have the legs or domestic credibility to host the show, and it slumped badly.
In addition, CBS has now ramped up its Sunday program, “Face the Nation” to one hour for the first time ever, which has become more competitive with Sunday’s historic leader, “Meet the Press.”
So this week, the ABC suits (who should have listened to me in the first place), now have Stephanopoulos coming back to doing “This Week” on Sundays, in addition to his “Good Morning America” duties (he may get Fridays off now…that what I would do ABC suits, are you listening?).
And as for Amanpour, she will still work her contract off at ABC with a series of specials as their new “international news anchor,” plus she gets to go back to CNN, hosting a daily show on CNN International.
Now everybody is happy. ABC gets to share glory with Amanpour on staff when the big international story happens. CNN has one of its original stars back in the fold on a daily, high profile program. And Amanpour gets the golden ego parachute she needed to save professional face.
A weird situation is corrected, and everyone is happy.
For now.
DISGRACE - Black newspapers experience this all the time. Some radical right-wing group or disgruntled politicians get made at something we publish, and the next thing you know, pressure is put on our advertisers to dump us, hoping that we get the message to straighten up, get in line, and stop telling truth to power.
Needless to say, we’re still here, as you see. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t suffered in the process.
And that’s why we cringed upon hearing the news that a certain home improvement company, namely Lowe’s, withdrew its advertising from a The Learning Channel reality TV show called “American Muslim” just because some right-wing conservative group called the Florida Family Association sent the company an email complaining about its sponsorship, saying it was “propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.”
Apparently there are some who don’t understand that American Muslims are JUST THAT, AMERICAN Muslims…you know, as in CITIZENS who should enjoy the same rights and respect as, oh let’s see, AMERICAN Jews or AMERICAN Buddhists, or American whatever…feel that the rest of us should remain ignorant of the fact.
They don’t want us to watch the program, and realize how Muslim families in this nation live their lives - working, worshipping, raising their families to be contributing citizens.
More importantly, they want to demonize anyone who holds to the Islamic faith as a potential terrorist who lives only to destroy America, and all Christians in the process.
Those may, indeed, the views of Muslim extremists, many of whom still reside in the Middle East. But those are not the views of the majority of Muslims who live in the United States, and I suspect that the last thing any extremist who intends violence wants is a bunch of TV cameras following him and his family around for a TV series.
If you don’t believe me, ask any Christian extremist, the majority of whom DO live in this country, are American, and delight in murdering unarmed abortion clinic doctors and setting off bombs are Olympic sites in the US.
Ya think a few Muslim organizations should write a couple of companies and tell them to carrying TV evangelists?
Thus, why it was so dumb, and yes, bigoted, for Lowe’s to bow to the wishes of the conservative right, and pull its advertising from “American Muslim,” a program that allowed those of us not of the Islamic faith to learn more about the overwhelming majority of our Muslim brothers and sisters.
By capitulating to power (or perceived power at least), Lowe’s sent an unfortunate message that Americans should be judged by only what the rest of us think of them, not by what the truth actually is. All of these religious righties who insist that GOD is “on their side,” do so only to scare and frighten the rest of us into submission. The way they continue to demonize President Barack Obama as someone who is secretly a “dangerous” Muslim who intends to “destroy” America, would be laughable if it wasn’t so hateful and calculating.
For it’s part, Lowe’s has issued what they consider to be an apology, saying that by pulling the ads from “American Muslim,’ they, “managed to make some people very unhappy.”
“Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lightning rod for many of those views,” the Lowe’s statement continued. “As a result we did pull our advertising on this program. We believe it is best to respectfully defer to communities, individuals and groups to discuss and consider such issues of importance.”
That’s bull, and as a result, there are members of Congress who are going after Lowe’s. Some even calling for a boycott.
It may not have been wise for Lowe’s to advertise in the first place on the show if they couldn’t handle the heat (though there wasn’t any). But once they did, unless there was something truly wrong with the program, and by all measure there wasn’t, then Lowe’s should have told the right-wingers to “kiss off.”
Now Lowe’s has a bigoted stain against it.
I hope it knows how to make amends.
THE GINGRICH TRAIN - It is beyond me how former House Speaker and all-around megalomaniac Newt Gingrich is leading the GOP presidential pack all of a sudden. It was almost two weeks a ago that Herman Cain - the colored Republican former frontrunner - was leading the field, that is until Ginger White came forward with allegations of a 13-year affair Hermie’s wife apparently knew nothing about.
Hermie soon left the race, denying all charges, but vowing to…well, whatever.
So that meant all of those dumb Tea Party Hermie followers - you know, the folks that allowed Hermie Cain to sell them his swill about black Obama supporters being “brainwashed,” and the solution to America’s economic problems is his asinine “nine-nine-nine plan” - had to go to somebody else.
So whom do they choose?
The second next nuttiest guy in the race (Ron Paul is the first, Michelle Bachmann is third, with Hermie formerly holding fourth place).
Former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich has visions of grandeur that would make Napoleon Bonaparte blink. While there’s no doubt that Gingrich is an educated man, there is also clear evidence that his book smarts have been holding his common sense hostage for most of his adult life.
The most recent example is Gingrich’s assertion that poor people should have their children clean school buildings so that they can develop a work ethic.
Apparently rich kids don’t have to concern themselves with developing a work ethic since all of Daddy’s money is going to them without challenge.
Gingrich is the choice of the hardcore conservatives, but strangely enough, not all of them want to see him drink warm milk at night at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. They don’t like some of his past statements attacking them, so much so that extreme right-wing radio host Michael Savage offered Gingrich $1 million to drop out of the race.
Given that Gingrich makes $60,000 per speaking engagement, Savage’s offer means nothing, except that Newt is simply not wanted by some on his side of the tracks.
So who will win the GOP presidential nomination?
The Iowa Caucuses begin in January. We’ll know by June for sure. And then the real action begins.
Meanwhile it is instructive that when all of those Herman Cain chose a candidate to run to, they didn’t choose former frontrunner Mitt Romney, but Gingrich. That means its true what they say - Mitt Romney really isn’t liked, or trusted by the hard core conservatives in the Republican Party.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out over the next couple of months.
Interesting indeed.
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.Power750.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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