NCNAACP ANNOUNCES STATE CONVENTION, VOTING REGISTRATION EFFORT - The 69th annual State NAACP Convention will kickoff in Raleigh Oct. 11-13th, it was announced this week. Also, the Million Voters March will commence as well to deliver one million voters across North Carolina to the polls. [photo Chris Hinton]
STATE NEWS BRIEFS
NC
NAACP ANNOUNCES 69TH ANNUAL STATE CONVENTION
[RALEIGH] The NCNAACP announced this week its 69th
Annual State Convention at the North Raleigh Hilton Oct. 11th-13th.
Elected denominational leaders from the Baptists,
AME Church, AME Zion Church and the NC Council of Churches, representing
thousands of churches across the state of North Carolina, were also present to
announce a new statewide voter registration effort. The NC NAACP will release
an email announcement to 40,000 contacts throughout the state this week calling
on individuals to register 10 others between now and October 12.
The
entire State Convention will be focused on voter education, voter protection
and voter mobilization. All 100 branches and chapters, youth and adults, will
be engaged with this single focus. During the State of Civil Rights Address on
Oct. 13th, President Barber will announce with faith and coalition partners the
renewal of the Million Voters March, calling on one million black, brown
progressive white, labor and people of faith to go to the polls early,
beginning on October 18, and then go back and bring others.
Speakers
during the state convention include Roslyn Brock, chairwoman of the National
NAACP Board, Benjamin Todd Jealous, president/CEO of the national NAACP, and
Gov. Beverly Perdue, who will deliver remarks during the Political Action
Luncheon on Friday, Oct. 12th.
There
will also be petitions available via the Wilmington Ten Pardons of Innocence
Project for conventions attendees to sign asking Gov. Perdue to grant pardons
of innocence to the Wilmington Ten.
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TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
WAR OVER TATA FIRING CONTINUES
One week after the Democratic-led Wake School Board
fired Supt. Tony Tata, alleging that his leadership was becoming increasingly
detrimental and partisan, members of the Republican board minority, along with
the GOP head of the Wake Board of Commissioners, and several members of various
local right-wing groups, ganged up on the board Democrats during Tuesday’s
contentious meeting. Both GOP board members John Tedesco and Debra Goldman -
who are running for other offices - used words like “despicable” and
“cowardly,” as did several members of the public during public comments, to
describe what Chairman Hill and the Democrats had done.
Tedesco
and Goldman, along with fellow GOP board members Chris Malone (who is also
running for office) and Deborah Pritchett, did not show up for a scheduled work
session last Saturday.
Wake
Commission Board Chair Paul Coble, a Republican, blasted the school board in a
letter as having “no leadership” and not able to partner with the commissioners
on funding issues until they can settle their issues. Coble put off a scheduled
meeting with school board leaders about a bond referendum to fund needed school
construction until further notice.
School
board Democrats insist that working with Tata became untenable, and that they
spent more time trying to correct his mistakes, than moving forward.
Meanwhile,
Acting Supt. Dr. Stephen Gainey was sworn-in to officially guide the school
system for the next two months.
NCCU DEAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED ASSAULT
The dean of the University College at North Carolina
Central University has been arrested and charged with assaulting a female
colleague on campus, published reports say. Dean Ontario Wooden, 34, allegedly "unlawfully
and willfully did assault Tarryn L. Simmons, a female person, by grabbing her
forearm and shoving her against a cabinet, causing scratches and bruises on the
forearm and upper left shoulder,” according to the arrest warrant. The victim
is reportedly a speech coordinator in the Academic Affairs Dept. Wooden has
posted the $2,000 bond and has been released from jail. He is scheduled for a
court appearance Oct. 23rd. His employment status with NCCU remains
unclear at press time.
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DALTON “OPEN” TO LESSER
FORM OF VOTER I.D.
By Cash Michaels
Editor
Lt.
Gov. Walter Dalton is adamantly opposed to photo and government-issued voter
identification, his gubernatorial campaign says. He sees them as attempts at
voter suppression, and if elected, Dalton would veto such as his “line in the
sand.
Indeed, Dalton’s campaign
spokesman, Schorr Johnson, told the Daily Tar Heel newspaper on Sept. 12th, “Dalton does not support a state voter ID law due to
exaggerated statistics about voter fraud.”
“ Voter ID laws are a
solution in search of a problem,” Johnson concluded.
But if elected governor, Dalton, a
moderate Democrat, admits he would be “open,” Johnson told The Carolinian this week, to a compromise measure with the
Republican-led NC General Assembly, requiring some form of non-governmental
voter identification in order to cast a ballot.
“He is open to supporting some form of identification
(such as a utility bill and multiple other forms), similar to [the] current law
for registering to vote,” Johnson wrote in an email reply for comment.
Though less restrictive than what
state Republican leaders really have in mind, black leaders say they’re opposed
to any unnecessary barrier between the voter, and the ballot.
“Voter ID in any form is a Trojan
horse backdoor effort to voter suppression,” Rev. William Barber, president of
the NC NAACP, said in response to Dalton’s stated willingness to compromise.
“We should be identifying a progressive vision for our future as a state rather
than trying to find ways to ID voters that have already been qualified to
vote.”
So why is Dalton willing to
horse-trade on a sensitive issue like voter ID at the same time he’s trying to
attract as many black votes as he can get?
Being at least 12 points behind
Republican gubernatorial opponent Pat McCrory, the former mayor of Charlotte
who says he would sign a voter photo ID bill into law if elected, could be one
reason.
And paying close attention to polls
that have consistently shown a considerable majority of North Carolinians being
for voter ID, could be another.
The most recent WRAL-TV poll, released just this week, shows
that 69 percent of those surveyed agreed that some sort of certifiable voter
identification should be required at the polls when casting a ballot, with more
Republicans than Democrats agreeing.
That poll flies in the face of the
current official position of the NC Democratic Party (NCDP).
According to the NCDP 2012 Platform
under “Fair and Open Elections and a Strong Party,” under “Voting Rights” the
party’s position clearly states, “…We (the NCDP) oppose laws that require
identification in order to vote or register to vote, which create
discriminatory barriers to the right to vote and disenfranchise many eligible
voters.”
During its state convention last
summer, delegates to the state Democratic Party Convention passed Resolution
#61 which stated, in part, “Voter fraud is nearly non-existent in the State of
North Carolina” and “North Carolina elections have adequate safeguards against
fraud, and function in a way that promotes confidence in the accuracy of their
results.”
When asked if the NCDP was
“flexible” on voter ID, just as long as it did not involve photo or government
identification, Walton Robinson, NCDP Communications Director replied, “The NCDP Platform position on Voter ID is the official
position of the party. Our first priority is stopping any efforts to
suppress or obstruct the voting rights of Americans. Period.”
“Beyond
that,” Robinson continued, “…we are encouraged that the courts have, thus far,
stuck these laws down in other states,” referring to recent rulings striking
down or changing voter ID laws in Florida, Texas, Iowa, New Hampshire, and just
this week, Pennsylvania.
The
Carolinian checked with the Obama
campaign and asked the same questions amid rumors that the president may also
be “flexible” on voter ID.
Ironically, there is very little
showing President Obama publicly stating any position on the topic, thought his
White House is on record on August 30, 2012 as saying, “…this administration
believes it should be easier for eligible citizens to vote -- to register and
vote. We should not be imposing unnecessary obstacles or barriers to voter
participation.”
And yet the Democratic candidate
for North Carolina governor says he’s “open” to a limited form of voter ID.
Dalton has said as recently as just
last month that he could “embrace” the Republican-sponsored voter ID compromise
measure that was discussed during the last legislative session, but failed to
ever get to the floor.
In fact, in March 2011, House
Republicans offered the first of two compromises on voter ID, the first being
the use of just a voter registration card or “other forms of identification.
The NC Legislative Black
Caucus, however, wasn’t buying it.
“Any type of ID required
to be shown each and every time can have a chilling effect,” caucus chairman,
Sen. Floyd McKissick (D-Durham) told the Charlotte Observer then. “Any obstacle to the polls we think is
unjustified.”
When the GOP-led NC General
Assembly did pass a voter photo ID law in 2011, saying that it was needed to
ensure the “integrity” of the voting process in North Carolina, Gov. Beverly
Perdue vetoed the measure, seeing it as a disguised attempt to suppress
African-American and Hispanic voters, in addition to the youth vote, all prime
demographics for President Obama’s 2012 re-election bid.
When House Republicans failed to
override Perdue’s veto because Democrats refused to go along to make up the 72
votes needed, House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg), then announced that a
compromise measure would be devised in the short session to get the law in
place.
“The compromise measure
being negotiated would allow voters to show a broad range of documents to prove
identity, including bank statements, utility bills or any government documents
with name and address,” The News and Observer reported in its June 5, 2012 story. “Voters without such
documents would be required to show that their signature matched their voter
registration form.”
Speaker Tillis was
certain that a deal could be reached, and said as much.
Twenty-one days later,
however, any hope of voter ID compromise this year in time for the 2012
elections was dead.
“The speaker asked me to
try to strike a balance to ensure the integrity of the election system ... but
I could never strike that balance,” Rep. David Lewis, the House elections
committee chairman, told the N&O
in its June 26th story regarding his negotiations with House
Democrats. “It was going to have to be a substantially watered down version and
the more I moved in that direction, the more I risked losing the members of my
caucus.”
But to hear Lt. Gov.
Dalton tell it, he would have found common ground with the Republicans.
“Do you favor a voter ID law?”
Dalton was asked by WRAL-TV anchorman David Crabtree on the Sept. 15th
broadcast of “On The Record.”
“Voter ID, not photo ID,” the
Democratic candidate at first replied, then going on to immediately contradict
himself in the next sentence.
“I do not favor voter ID. I have
said there is a compromise bill out there that was talked about, and I think,
you know, I can embrace that,” a tape of the broadcast shows Dalton saying,
with him then adding in contradiction, “I really don’t think [voter fraud] is a
problem though.”
Dalton’s voter ID contradiction is
important because just last week his campaign kicked off an “African-Americans
for Dalton” Youtube commercial suggesting that McCrory, the former mayor of
Charlotte, didn’t understand black people or their issues.
One of the black lawmakers featured in Dalton’s ad is
NC Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Sen. Floyd McKissick, who maintained in
2011 that, “Any type of ID required to be shown
each and every time can have a chilling effect. Any obstacle to the polls we
think is unjustified.”
In Dalton’s new ad,
McKissick is seen calling Republican Pat McCrory, "a politician who
doesn't understand why I'm upset about voter ID."
This week, the Dalton campaign garnered endorsements
from the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and the Durham Committee
on the Affairs of Black People, apparently with neither group realizing that
Dalton was not one hundred percent against voter ID as many had assumed.
Dalton’s campaign would not say why
he would be open to any compromise on voter ID given its firm statements to the
contrary, apparently realizing the political downside of publicly drawing
attention to the policy contradiction while currently losing in the polls to Republican
opponent Pat McCrory.
Campaign spokesman Schorr Johnson
would only say what “Governor”
Walter Dalton would do if elected.
“If he is elected, [Lt. Gov. Dalton] will hold any
voter ID bill that came across his desk to an extremely high standard of
protecting the right to vote and has drawn a line in the sand when it comes to
requiring photo ID,” Johnson wrote in an email response.
Johnson continued, “I was also making you aware of
the current law on the books (which Dalton supported) that requires
identification to register to vote and for first-time voters at the polls when
they vote (which can be utility bills, etc.). [Lt. Gov. Dalton] is not seeking to change those laws,
either. The only type of voter ID law that he might not oppose would have to be
consistent with this--but he's not going to initiate it. And again, no photo
ID.”
When pressed as to what that means, Johnson later
added in a separate reply that Dalton would, “… not act without a lot of
outreach to those who might be concerned about it. If all parties were on
board, he might consider it.”
When still pressed as to why the lieutenant governor,
if elected, would consider any voter ID bill at all for any reason, Schorr
Johnson replied, “He is not espousing any compromise bill. But he would only
consider it if came to him as a way to prevent the photo ID bill from becoming law
(through a veto override)--and would only do so after receiving lots of input
from those who are concerned about the bill.”
Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis has assured
that, assuming the GOP remains in control of the General Assembly this fall, a new
attempt to pass a voter ID law would be made in the next long session in 2013.
If Pat McCrory is elected in November, then both he
and Tillis guarantee it will become law.
But what happened if Walter Dalton is elected
instead?
Depending on whether the Republicans are able to
increase their majority in the House would determine if they’d be able to pass
a voter photo ID law on their own without Democrats. If they’re able to deliver
72 votes without Democrats, Tillis can then override any veto a Gov. Dalton
could muster, thus not needing to compromise what they really want.
But if Democrats were to increase their numbers in
the state House, thus lessening the GOP majority, then, theoretically, there
would be nothing to compromise because Dalton could easily veto the bill
without fear of override.
So why would he be willing to compromise at all, or
even telegraph that now?
His campaign either can’t, or won’t say.
“As Governor, [North Carolina] will have a strong
ally in protecting the right to vote,” Johnson concluded.
Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina
NAACP, was not so sure.
“Voter ID in any form is a Trojan
horse backdoor effort to voter suppression,” He told The Carolinian. “The NAACP does not compromise the values of the
15th amendment or the Voting Rights Act. The NAACP has fought for 103 years in
every political climate for the full an unabridged right to vote.”
“This is where we continue to stand
for all Americans and North Carolinians,” Rev. Barber continued, “and we
call on Republicans and Democrats to stand with us on this noble principle.”
“We endorse the current law of signature attestation with a
five-year felony if you engage in fraud. The focus of this election should be
jobs, addressing poverty, securing labor rights, educational equality, health
care, addressing disparities in criminal justice system, and expanding and
protecting voting rights. We should be identifying a progressive vision
for our future as a state, rather than trying to find ways to ID voters that have
already been qualified to vote.”
Lt. Gov. Dalton and Republican Pat
McCrory have been invited to address key issues during the upcoming NC NAACP
State Convention in Raleigh later this month.
Thus far, only Dalton has agreed to
attend.
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NNPA STORIES -
http://www.nnpa.org/news/lead/obama-and-romney-reject-invitation-to-address-black-issues-by-freddie-allen/
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HIGH POVERTY RATE REMAINS IN NC
by Tazra Mitchell
Special to The Carolinian
Millions of North Carolinians continue to struggle with the lasting effects of the Great Recession, said a new report released this morning. The latest U.S. Census data show that North Carolina’s poverty remained high at 17.9 percent in 2011, statistically unchanged from 2010.
The poverty rate jumped more than 25 percent since the start of the Great Recession in 2007, according to a report from the Budget and Tax Center, a project of the North Carolina Justice Center. Nearly 1.7 million North Carolinians were officially in poverty in 2011, and more than 737,000 lived in deep poverty, meaning they earned half or less of the annual poverty-level income for their family size. North Carolina’s poverty and deep-poverty rates are the 13th highest in the nation.
The data indicate that the modest but significant improvement in the economy hasn’t been enough to reverse the state’s job deficit, high unemployment rate, and rapid growth of low-wage work, resulting in unshared economic growth and prolonged economic security, the report said.
“Unemployment is predicted to remain high over the next several years, suggesting North Carolinians may be facing another lost decade of shrinking income growth and high poverty,” said Tazra Mitchell, public policy fellow with the BTC and author of the report. “It is important for policymakers to continue to invest in policies that bolster economic security and spur broadly shared economic growth for all North Carolinians.”
Certain geographic communities continue to be hit harder by the enduring effects of the Great Recession, the report said. Rural counties continue to have some of the highest rates of poverty compared to their urban counterparts. Nine of the 10 highest county-level poverty rates were in rural areas, with the highest county-level rate in Robeson County, where 1 in 3 residents live in poverty.
In addition, the report finds that the poverty rate for children in North Carolina was above the state rate at 25.6 percent. Communities of color also experienced higher rates of poverty, with 28 percent of African Americans, 34.9 percent of Latinos, and 27 percent of American Indians living in poverty. The racial disparity is even more pronounced among children, with the poverty rates for African American, Latino, and American Indian children soaring 2.5 to 3 times higher than the rate for white children. Women and people with lower levels of educational attainment also experience higher poverty compared to other groups.
Reversing the trends of poverty and decline in shared economic growth requires long-term investments in economic policies that can generate jobs that offer a living wage and benefits, the report said. North Carolina policymakers must be careful to not dismantle any work supports that help alleviate poverty, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, or reduce support for critical safety net programs that help provide food, housing and energy assistance for struggling families.
“Cutting important government services that people rely on in order to close budget shortfalls is not the way to turn our economy around and lift our working families and their children out of poverty,” Mitchell said. “We need to take a balanced approach that includes new revenues so we can invest in our state’s economy and provide help for those who need it most.”
Tazra Mitchell is a Public Policy Fellow with the NC Budget and Tax Center in Raleigh
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RALEIGH VERSION
CASH IN THE APPLE
By Cash Michaels
THE N&O AND THE WAKE
SCHOOL BOARD - One of the reasons why folks have a problem with The News and
Observer newspaper here in Raleigh is
because there are times they don’t know their behinds from their box-empty
brains, yet have the gall to be arrogant about it.
Take the recent firing
(and deservedly so) of Wake Schools Supt. Anthony Tata.
The editorial scribes at
the N&O think it is such a terrible crime, and unjust action, by Chairman
Kevin Hill and the board’s Democratic majority. The parents, children and
community (I might ask which “community” by the way) will suffer, the N&O
assures.
The Democratic board
majority must be held responsible for putting partisanship before public
responsibility, the N&O opines.
Lord, please, give me a
break!
Read some of this N&O
garbage:
“…Hill and his colleagues have done everything possible
to prove they are partisan, culminating with a party-line 5-4 vote this week to
fire Superintendent Tony Tata after less than 20 months on the job.”
John Drescher
N&O Executive Editor
Sept. 28, 2012
“The five Democrats who voted to oust Tata, who was
hired by a Republican-majority board 20 months ago, pinky-swear that politics
had nothing to do with it. Appearances, however, can be everything.”
Burgetta
Eplin Wheeler
N&O
columnist
Sept. 27, 2012
“Kevin Hill, the board’s veteran chairman, is a particular
disappointment for letting the firing go forward. Hill himself had said in July
he hoped Tata would remain in the job. As leader of the Democratic faction, he
should have impressed upon his colleagues the value of moving beyond partisan
rancor.”
N&O Editorial
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012
It’s clear the N&O
editorialists haven’t been reading their own newspaper’s reporting, for if they
did, they would have known that Chairman Hill has had his hands filled with
trying to get the Republican minority - still angered not only by the fact that
their dearly beloved chairman, Ron Margiotta, was dethroned in last year’s
election, but also that their GOP neighborhood schools agenda for Wake was
demonstrably rejected by the five-seat Democratic sweep - in line to forget the
past, and work together to move the school system forward.
The fact that none of
them showed up last weekend for a work session on a proposed new student
assignment plan should tell you something.
And
doesn’t the fact that three of the four GOP’ers still on the board are running
for other public offices BEFORE THEIR TERMS END confirm the notion that they
have no intention of working with Chairman Hill and the Democratic board
majority?
Where
was the N&O editorial demanding that they resign if they didn’t want the
job anymore?
Doesn’t
the evidence of John Tedesco, Debra Goldman, Deborah Pritchett and Chris
Malone’s collective disruptive behavior, and open disrespect towards the
Democratic chairman, tell anyone with eyes and ears that getting their partisan
way always has been their first priority, and serving ALL of the children in
Wake County Public Schools somewhere else on their collective agenda?
Where
was the N&O’s editorial demanding that the GOP board minority cut the crap?
Tedesco’s
remark about, “I wouldn’t trust this school board [majority] with my lunch
money,” a clear dog whistle to the Republican-led Wake County Commission Board and
GOP state lawmakers to deny any funding requests from the school board’s
Democratic majority. Where’s the N&O’s incisive, “You’ve gone too far”
analysis of that?
And
doesn’t the well-documented erratic behavior of Supt. Tata towards the
Democratic majority also prove his complicity in all that’s gone on? If he was
so genuine in wanting the partisan waters calmed, then why didn’t he try to get
his fellow Republicans on the board to cool it?
Where
were the N&O editorials asking the board’s Republicans to fall in line,
especially after Chairman Hill repeatedly made grand gestures, despite
documented sharp criticisms from the liberal base like Great Schools in Wake
Coalition and the NCNAACP, to give Tata and his failed school choice plan a
chance to succeed?
We’ll
give N&O editorial page editor Steve Ford a little credit for suggesting in
his Sunday column that it’s hard to find any partisan fingerprints on what the
Democrats did in firing Tata, given the timing and less than artful (meaning it
wasn’t politically slick) way it was handled.
Still,
Ford made us gag when he wrote, “ Tata turned out…to be a good listener and
someone who seemed comfortable with the educational terrain.”
Gee,
then why isn’t he still there, Steve? While Tata the politician gave all of the
airs of being a good listener and comfortable with the educational setting in
public, our sources behind the scenes confirm what Hill and Sutton said.
The
man was only interested in his way, and made senior staff and principals put
upon for his severe lack of being collaborative, a serious flaw given that the
school janitor had more experience than Tata did.
The only N&O
columnist who seemed to have his head above ground for this one was Barry
Saunders, who rightfully chided Susan Bryant, chair of the Wake County
Republican Party, for issuing this call to arms in her emailed newsletter two
weekends ago titled, “War at the School Board”:
“…the radical
extremists who have taken over the Wake County School Board are preparing to
fire our great Superintendent Tony Tata, and we have to do everything we can to
stop them.”
“Face facts,” Saunders
wrote in his Sept. 24th column, “ not only are the Democratic board
members not radical by any rational definition of the term of the term, but
they didn’t “take over” the school board as far as it is known. [They were] all
democratically elected.”
The fact that Bryant, who
is admittedly and unabashedly a right-wing zealot, is heralding “our great
Superintendent Tony Tata” in a mass Republican email countywide, while bashing
the “radical extremists who have taken over the Wake County School Board” is
incontrovertible evidence that the “partisan rancor” the N&O editorial
alluded to last week was anything but Democrat-inspired.
You’ll find no such thing
from Chairman Hill, or Vice Chair Keith Sutton. Ever since the Democrats swept
the board elections a year ago, they have sought to bring calm, taking flack
for moving slowly and seeking compromise on issues they didn’t agree with Tata
and the GOP on.
Keeping Tata on, and
giving him a chance, as he requested, to carry out his flawed school choice
plan, was one of those painful compromises they caught tremendous heat for.
And, as has been well
documented, Tata and his plan not only failed miserably, but when he knew he was
failing, he began to act erratically, all of a sudden attacking Democratic
school board members publicly, issuing a public statement accusing them of
affiliating with the liberal child advocacy group Great Schools in Wake
Coalition.
What astounds me about
the N&O editorial “thinking” (if that’s what you call it) is that it was
clear from the very beginning when the Democrats took over that the Republicans
had decided to make trouble. You could track their intentions like a wounded
deer in the snow.
And it was also clear
that Supt. Tata, once he realized that his beloved school choice plan, was
screwing up royally to the point where parents, realtors, and even the mayor of
Raleigh were complaining, took off the “Mr. Nice Guy” robe and began striking
out at his Democratic bosses who he felt superior too (listening to Debra
Goldman and John Tedesco will always get you in trouble).
Tata might have gotten
way with it, except that when his school choice registration plan, and school
choice school bus plan also collapsed in holy horrors, (and remember, unlike
last fall’s traditional school rollout, which was already set in stone by
administrators as Tata was still learning what he was supposed to be doing, he
was completely in charge of this fall), it was extraordinarily clear that this
retired US Army Brigadier General did not have the requisite experience to
truly run a school system.
Where was the N&O
editorial being honest with Wake County parents about that?
This isn’t partisan for
me. I truly don’t give two taps past a farmhouse darn what party my school
superintendent, or school board members are. Really don’t want to know. Do you
know who taught me that?
Wake County Public
Schools, who, until 2009, enjoyed true nonpartisanship on its board and in its
school leadership.
Indeed, I’ve been
surprised to learn after the fact exactly who belonged to what party in past
years. And it can be arguably said that many of Wake’s best years academically
were during that time, and contributed to the outstanding growth of our entire
region.
But when Republicans were
elected in 2009 to take over the board, and ramrod their neighborhood schools
policy in (something they failed at), that’s when everything changed, and
Democrats had no choice but to engage them to wrest power back.
Once Dems got it, they
tried to calm things down, but the GOP refused, vowing to disrupt and disturb
ever chance they got.
The GOP cared less that
Tata’s choice plan (the one they hurriedly passed last year before the new
board could take over) would create more high poverty racial identifiable
schools.
Tata repeatedly promised
that he would fix what was broken about the choice plan, but no fix was in
sight.
For anyone, ANYONE to
think that Supt. Anthony Tata - a Republican, and Tea Party sympathizer; author
of erotic military novels; Fox News analyst; possible future candidate for the
US Senate (GOP has been grooming him the entire time he’s been in office, which
is why he’s worked so hard to get known and appreciated); and declared hater of
the Democratic president of the United States - was not going to eventually
show his true colors and ignorance of what it takes to be a REAL public school
superintendent, I’m sorry for them and the N&O.
The man NEVER taught a
class, NEVER worked under a principal or as a principal. He spent 18 months as
chief operating officer of the infamous Washington, D.C. public school system,
where he was in charge of ordering desks, blackboards and frozen pizzas.
Hardly the kind of
leadership that 16th largest school system in nation needed, or
should have wanted.
Tata was the last vestige
of the dysfunctional Margiotta era. He was chosen for a political statement
AGAINST what was considered the liberal doctrine of socioeconomic (SES) student
diversity. No other school system in the world exemplified that doctrine like
Wake County, and the Republicans wanted it brought down, no matter what!
Tata was devoted to
proving that school choice trumped SES, and when he was ordered to do
otherwise, he balked.
It was clear, once
Chairman Hill, Vice Chair Sutton, and the rest of the Wake School Board who
were being honest, realized Tata’s pattern of behavior amidst the system’s
failures, that they couldn’t wait. They had protected him long enough. The
public had maintained trust in Tata because they didn’t know.
But the board’s majority
knew his failures, and inability to lead without rancor. They moved immediately
to put a spiraling situation out of its misery, like the crippled horse that it
was.
That’s the story the
N&O editorialists have been ignoring, so much so that in the end, they
erroneously call Hill and the Democrats “partisans” for their actions.
The editorialists at the
News and Observer should be ashamed of themselves. I understand that after
three tumultuous years since the GOP takeover, there has been a longing for
peace and stability. I get that. The parents of this county get that.
But any intelligent
person who truly paid attention had to know that as long as the Republican
minority could open their mouths, and they had one of their own as
superintendent, there would be no peace.
Only a struggle for
power.
N&O, your jade
editorials have been shameful!
The case is clear.
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.
-30-
[****Wilmington edition]
CASH IN THE APPLE
By Cash Michaels
DEBATE - Because I have to write
this column a day before the first presidential debate between President
Barack Obama and Republican challenger, former
Gov. Mitt Romney, I can’t evaluate what
happened, or why. So that will have to wait until next week.
I
will say this, however. With the election just over a month away, every word,
phrase and debate is going to count. Either Pres. Obama will build on his lead
among voters over Romney, or the former governor is going to do the impossible
and change people’s minds about his thus far disastrous campaign.
The
bottomline is that none of this really matters if you don’t go out and vote.
Early voting in North Carolina begins on Oct. 18th. Take advantage
of it now while you have it, because based on who wins the governor’s and state
Legislature races here, you may not see it again.
So
don’t be stupid.
Starting
Oct. 18th, VOTE!
EARL
CALDWELL - This week, I had the distinct honor and pleasure of interviewing Prof.
Earl Caldwell, one of the first black
reporters ever to work at the New York Times.
Former
publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger died last week, and a publicist contacted me
asking if I was interested in speaking to Caldwell, who is a professor in the Scripps
Howard School of Journalism and Communications at Hampton University in
Virginia.
Prof.
Caldwell, whose father was born in Asheville, NC, is a man of history.
He
was the only reporter on the scene when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was
assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968.
Caldwell
was also the NY Times’ first black reporter to become national correspondent.
But
the thing that all journalists owe Professor Caldwell for is his courageous
stand for the protection of a reporter’s sources against government intrusion.
In fact, feel free to look the landmark US Supreme Court case up.
It’s
the United States versus Earl Caldwell.
When
the Times assigned Caldwell to cover the activities of the Black Panther Party
in California in the late 1960’s, the FBI contacted the black reporter and
asked him to be their spy.
You’ll
recall that the Panthers were a radical group of feared black militants who
sponsored food and education programs in the African-American community, but
promise white America they would meet violence with violence if attacked. They
were heavily armed, had firefights with police, and warned the black community
that the only way to gain freedom from racism was a revolutionary war with “the
oppressor.”
Needless
to say, the folks at the Times were frightened, and wanted to know more. So did
the FBI, which is why they approached Times reporter Earl Caldwell about
secretly working for them.
But
Caldwell emphatically refused. He says his job was to only report the news to
the people, not spy for the police.
The
FBI didn’t take no for an answer. They forced Caldwell to go before a federal
grand jury. The case went all the way to the US Supreme Court, where the High
Court ruled unanimously that the First Amendment protected a reporter’s sources
against government intrusion.
Thanks
to that historic ruling, various states have subsequently passed what are known
as “shield” laws, protecting a reporter’s right to protect his or her sources.
Many a reporter has gone to jail as a result when the government tried to get
them to tatty-tail on who told them what.
And
we have Earl Caldwell to thank for that.
It
is both fun and insightful to speak to a pivotal figure of history like Prof.
Caldwell. Getting his perspective on where we are as a people, how Pres. Obama
is doing, and the state that journalism is in today, was fascinating.
We
will be sharing parts of our interview with Earl Caldwell during our “Make It
Happen” broadcasts on Power 750 WAUG-AM starting this afternoon at 4 p.m. (those
outside of Raleigh can hear the program every Thursday at 4 p.m. online at www.myWAUG.com).
ANN
COULTER - Why does right-wing author Ann Coulter get a pass for writing and saying the most cruel and racist things imaginable?
No, I will not mention her new book about liberal whites and black people. It
is very clear that Coulter is simply trying to exploit stuff for a buck. I
understand the morons at Fox News booking her constantly. She’s the kind of
right-wing red meat they love over there, especially if she comes baring gifts
of racist barbs towards President Obama.
But
does that mean respectable shows like the “Today Show” and “The View” have to
have her on? At least “View” hostess Whoopi Goldberg tore into Coulter last week when she appeared to
peddle her book.
Beyond
wanting to draw a crowd, I just don’t get why respectable TV programs (at least
the ones that like to pretend to be) trip all over themselves to have this
witch on.
I
just don’t get it.
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.
-30-
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