http://nnpa.org/holder-endorses-shorter-terms-of-imprisoned-drug-offenders/
http://nnpa.org/black-workers-stuck-in-poverty-wages-by-freddie-allen/
http://nnpa.org/black-women-are-taking-care-of-business-by-freddie-allen/
NOT FOR SPEAKER TILLIS - As over 1500 Moral Monday protesters demonstrated at the NC Legislative Building Monday, some held signs opposed to House Speaker Thom Tillis [photo courtesy of George Frazier]
BUTTERFIELD BLASTS
TILLIS FOR
“TRADITIONAL
POPULATION” STANCE
by Cash Michaels
editor
Saying that
NC House Speaker Thom Tillis “…is the advocate for the Tea Party…” who is
engaged in “…an effort to divide and conquer, and try to separate groups of
people,” Democratic Congressman G. K. Butterfield has blasted the Republican US
Senate candidate for remarks made during a 2012 televised interview where
Tillis said that while the black and Hispanic populations in North Carolina
were growing, “…the traditional population of North Carolina and the United
States is more or less stable.”
Many
critics have interpreted Speaker Tillis’ “traditional population” remark as
another way of saying “white people,” given that he referenced black and
Hispanic populations in North Carolina first. Some political observers charge
that the term was not only a way to communicate to his conservative base, but
to some extent, “other” blacks and Hispanics as not being fully invested in the
principles and values that Republicans uphold.
It’s a
tactic that Republicans have nationally used against President Obama, and
against the black community when discussing poverty.
“Well I don’t know what Speaker
Tillis is talking about when he refers to ‘traditional’ voters or ‘traditional’
citizens,” Congressman Butterfield [D -1-NC] said during a phone interview with
The Carolinian from Washington, D.C. Tuesday. “We’ve got 9 million people in North
Carolina, and all of them are equal, and hopefully anyone who can participate
in the political process, does participate.”
“To try to classify someone as traditional
versus nontraditional, is an effort to divide and conquer, and try to separate
groups of people,” Butterfield continued. “I deplore that type of politics, and
I would call on Thom Tillis to never do that again, and understand that every North
Carolinian is equal, and all of us are traditional.”
It was during a 2012 appearance on
the television program “Carolina Business Review” when host Chris William asked
Tillis about changes in the Republican Party.
“When you see this shift that Hispanics used to be in the
Republican Party and now they're clearly on the other side of the aisle —when
you see all of these things that have transpired, what do you think about? What
is going on in the Republican Party?,” William asked Tillis.
“Well I think it has more to do what's going on in the
demographics of this country and recognizing that and then having a platform
and a message that resonates,” Speaker Tillis replied. “If you take a look, you
mentioned the Hispanic population —the African American population, there's a
number of things that our party stands for that they embrace. I think we have
to do a better job of communicating it. I think we have to do a better job of
being out there in-between elections, garnering support for the things that
we're trying to advance. And I think that we need a focus on limited government
and free markets which is something that's appealing to everybody. That kind of
work will position us for those growing sectors.”
Then, instead of plainly stating the fact that North
Carolina’s white population is not growing, thus the reason the GOP must
compete for the black and Hispanic vote, Tillis says, “The traditional
population of North Carolina and the United States is more or less stable. It's
not growing. The African American population is roughly growing but the
Hispanic population and the other immigrant populations are growing in
significant numbers. We've got to resonate with those future voters.”
The CBR host never followed up for clarification from Tillis
about exactly what “traditional population” meant.
The Tillis for Senate campaign this week explained their
candidate’s interesting choice of terms as no big deal.
"Traditional" North Carolinians refers to North
Carolinians who have been here for a few generations," Tillis campaign
Communications Director Daniel Keylin told the website Talking Points Memo, which broke the story. "A lot of the
state's recent population growth is from people who move from other states to
live, work, and settle down in North Carolina. Thom Tillis for example."
The problem with Keylin’s explanation is that
African-Americans, because of slavery, have been part of the “traditional”
population of North Carolina since “…its settlement by Europeans in the late
1600’s and early 1700’s,” according to UNC – Chapel Hill’s School of Education.
History records how slaves were instrumental in helping to build North Carolina
and its economy, and how after the Civil War, fought and died for civil rights,
and were elected to office in the succeeding centuries.
Factually and historically, observers say, blacks cannot be
reasonably denied their inclusion as part of North Carolina’s “traditional”
population.
That is, unless Thom Tillis was indeed employing a political
code.
According to the website, Right-wing Watch.org, a project of
the nonprofit progressive group, People
for the American Way, “Tills made the remarks while discussing the need for
the Republican Party to reach out to and appeal to non-white voters — but the
phrase “traditional population” as a euphemism for white Americans was lifted
right from the racist, anti-immigrant fringe.”
The website then provides links to conservative authors and
white supremacist groups, all of whom who use the term to illustrate how the
rights of white Americans were being either threatened or diminished by blacks,
Hispanics, and even President Barack Obama.
“Immigration reform [will] lead to situations where
traditional Americans, like those that have been here for hundreds of years in
descendancy, will no longer govern our own nation,” wrote William Gheen, leader
of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC.
In October 2009, conservative
columnist and former Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan wrote of
angry white Americans in a piece titled, Traditional
Americans Are Losing Their Nation, “America was once their country. They
sense they are losing it. And they are right.”
Critics say that Republican Tillis is
speaking to that same sentiment when he employs the “traditional population”
reference in referring to white demographic stagnation. In fact, this is at
least the second time Tillis has been accused of playing various groups against
each other.
In 2011, the Mecklenburg County
Republican was taped telling a predominately-white gathering at a local
restaurant, “What we
have to do is find a way to divide and conquer the people who are on
assistance. We have to show respect for that woman who has cerebral palsy and
had no choice in her condition, that needs help and we should help. And we need
to get those folks to look down at these people who choose to get into a
condition that makes them dependent on the government and say, ‘At some point
you’re on your own. We may end up taking care of those babies, but we’re not
taking care of you.’”
Speaker Tillis later apologized for those “divide and
conquer” remarks, but now, his “traditional population” comments have stirred
the hornets’ nest back up.
“This is offensive, but it’s what we’ve come to expect from
Speaker Tillis as he forces his ‘divide and conquer’ strategy on North
Carolina,” said Ben Ray, a spokesman for Democratic Party’s Forward North
Carolina. “North Carolinians deserve better than Thom Tillis’ growing
record of divisive rhetoric and dangerous policies.”
The controversy has even reached the national press, with
MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow suggesting this week that there may be more bad
stuff from Speaker Tillis we’ve yet to see.
Now Thom Tillis has also been dug
up on tape explaining who exactly he considers to be a traditional North
Carolina voter, the Thom Tillis-Kay Hagan Senate race just got tilted in a
pretty significant way,” Maddow said on her show Tuesday night. “What else is out there that still hasn’t come
out?”
Congressman G. K. Butterfield agrees, charging that Tillis
is divisive in his words, and his public policy.
“Well I’ve
been watching the wrecking ball that has been occurring at the General Assembly
since he became speaker, and it is
wrecking ball – there’s no other way to describe it,” Butterfield told The Carolinian. “[Tillis] is the
advocate for the Tea Party, and the Tea Party has as its agenda to dismantle
social programs, and to remove the social safety net that so many low-income
families depend on. He is anti-education – I don’t understand that about his
agenda – the fact that he’s willing to cut nearly $500 million out of the
education budget, but at the same time try to lower taxes on his rich friends,
and raise taxes on middle-class families. It just makes no sense to me.”
Taking dead
aim at Tillis campaign to unseat incumbent Democratic Senator Kay Hagan,
Butterfield added, “If he’s elected to the United States Senate, he’s going to
be a part of this right-wing Tea Party agenda, and that is to reduce the size
of government, and thereby hurt ordinary, hardworking families.”
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS 6-19-14
TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
6-19-14
WAKE COMMISSIONERS
APPROVE $1 BILLION BUDGET
Wake County commissioners have
approved a $1.066 billion budget for the next fiscal year that raises property
taxes 4.4 cents to 57.8 cents per $100 property evaluation. The new budget also
designated $3.75 million in taxes on alcohol for teacher pay increases.
However, Wake School Board leaders say the increase from the Commission Board
is a far cry from the $29.1 million pay plan that the school board originally
requested.
19 ARRESTED AT LATEST
MORAL MONDAY PROTEST
Nineteen
people, including two nationally known labor leaders from out-of-state, were
arrested Monday during the latest Moral Monday demonstration at the NC
Legislature. J. David Cox, president of the American Federation of Government
Employees, and Bryan DeWyngaert, the AFGE’s chief of staff, were among those
charged with misdemeanor trespassing and taken to jail. Last week, Superior
Court Judge Carl Fox temporarily struck down some of the new building
restrictions implemented against Moral Monday protesters, ruling that they were
“too broad.
DURHAM CITY MANAGER
TO OVERSEE REFORMS REGARDING RACIAL BIAS ALLEGATIONS
The Durham
City Council is apparently taking allegations of racial bias and abuse on the
part of the Durham Police Dept. seriously enough to order City Manager Tom
Bonfield to oversee the implementation of policies to address citizen concerns.
The change in direction is based on citizen complaints, and a report from the
Durham Human Relations Commission confirming incidents of police racial bias
and abuse. Bonfield says it will take 60 days to implement the recommendations.
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS 6-19-14
ACTING VA SECRETARY
VOWS CHANGES FOR FAYETTEVILLE VA HOSPITAL
[FAYETTEVILLE] The Acting Veterans
Affair Secretary came to inspect the Fayetteville VA Medical Center last week
in light of reports of long wait times and poor service, and promised $7.4
million will be spent to correct the issues. Secretary Sloan Gibson. An internal audit
revealed that the average wait time for an initial primary care appointment was
83 days, making the Fayetteville VA the third worst in the nation for wait
times that should take no longer than 14 days. Gibson said a lack of space at
the facility, and losing physicians were the two biggest problems.
NC SENATE TURNS
THUMBS DOWN ON STATE HOUSE BUDGET
[RALEIGH] As
expected, the NC Senate greeted the recently passed $21 billion budget by the
NC House with skepticism, ultimately voting to reject it unanimously. Of note,
senators questioned the wisdom of funding teachers’ pay raises with proceeds
from the NC lottery, especially when lottery officials say House revenue
estimates are over $40 million beyond their projections. The Senate also had
problems with the House underestimating Medicaid gaps by as much as $250
million. The Senate budget proposal cut 12,000 elderly and disabled people from
Medicaid in addition to slashing programs. It also gave teachers an eleven
percent raise, but slashed 7400 teacher assistants from the education budget.
STATE DEMOCRATIC
PARTY CHAIR APOLOGIZES FOR TOUTING COOPER AT STATE CONVENTION
[RALEIGH]
State Democratic Party Chairman Randy Voller has found himself in hot water
again, apologizing to 2016 gubernatorial candidate Ken Spaulding after Voller
reportedly introduced state Attorney General Roy Cooper as “…the next
governor.” Spaulding and Cooper will be locked into a Democratic primary, and
the state party chair normally tries hard not to endorse a candidate until
after a primary winner has been declared. Voller has apologized to Spaulding for
the gaff, saying that introducing Cooper, he “…got caught up in the moment.”
-30-
CASH IN THE APPLE –
6-19-14
By Cash Michaels
BOY, WAS I
WRONG! – Last time I wrote, with confidence mind you, that the NBA Finals would go six or seven games,
and that the Miami Heat would be
victorious, winning their third championship in a row.
I wrote that
on the basis of the second game of the series, when LeBron and the boys beat
the San Antonio Spurs at home in San
Antonio in convincing style. Given how Miami had played in Game One in San
Antonio before the high indoor temperatures forced LeBron James to cramp up and crap out, I was convinced that the
Miami Heat would be able to weather anything that San Antonio threw at them,
and hold onto their championship trophy for a third year.
Well, here
is it, a week later, and the NBA Finals are not only finished already at five
games, but San Antonio took four of those five in commanding fashion.
And I do
mean COMMANDING.
That second
game I based my ill-advised conviction on was the only game the Heat would win.
Little did I realize that the San Antonio Spurs were on a bloodlust mission not
only to win the championship they were deeply hurt to lose a year ago, but they
also sought revenge against the team who denied them that crown last year.
The end
result this year were three straight games of complete domination by the San
Antonio Spurs over the Miami Heat.
Let me put
this another way….LeBron and company had no idea what hit them Sunday night in
San Antonio, nor the two previous games. The Spurs were indeed masterful in
their execution of every phase of the game. And most importantly, they played
as a team, with every member on the floor contributing in passing, defense, and
scoring.
That’s
where Miami screwed up big time. When they want to, Miami can play great
defense, but when all five Spurs on the court are capable of either driving to
the basket, or shooting mid-range or three-point shots, then Miami, or any
other team, for that matter, is going to have a problem.
Miami had a
bigger problem, though. With the exception of LeBron, no one else on the Heat squad
could score. Yes the Spurs played tremendous defense, but Miami had great looks
when their best players shot the ball, and couldn’t whip the bucket. If they did, it would have
made each game as close as possible, dependent on whatever run either team
could put together in the final moments to win by a hair.
Instead,
the Spurs blew Miami out the last three games by at least twenty points each,
all because Heat shooting dried up, and Heat defense couldn’t stop the Spurs’
scoring machine.
That’s a
tribute to San Antonio Coach Greg
Popovich. Yes he’s gruff like a hard-nosed Marine, but what I’ve also seen
of the man is he has heart, class and conviction. He cares about his players,
and he cares about the game. You won’t catch “Pop” saying anything bad about
the opposing team, and he insists that his players respect their opponents by
playing clean and fair.
And that’s
what made an otherwise disappointing NBA Finals this year worthwhile for me.
Yes, the Miami Heat got beat, and I mean REALLY beat. But they lost to a truly
class act. The San Antonio Spurs were not only worthy opponents, but they were
opponents with skill and class. They earned the championship this year, and
rightfully so.
So, to all
of the Miami Heat fans, our team got their butts kicked royally, and there’s no
sense trying to deny it.
And to you
Spurs fans, I hope you possess even one-tenth of the class that Coach Pop and
the team have, because if you don’t, you’re not doing the legend of the San
Antonio Spurs any favors.
GOODBYE, QUEEN MOTHER DEE – Last
week came word of the death of veteran actress Ruby Dee at the age of 91.
Dee was the wife of another veteran
black actor, the legendary Ossie Davis,
who died in 2005. The couple were married for more than 50 years, and appeared
in numerous stage productions and motion pictures together.
Indeed one of the most prominent
films Dee and Davis costarred in was Spike
Lee’s 1989 classic, “Do the Right Thing.” By coincidence, the film was
showing on cable the very afternoon Ruby Dee’s death had been reported, so I
made it a point to sit down with my eleven-year-old daughter, KaLa, to watch
it. It gave me an opportunity not only to show her the fine work of Ruby Dee,
but also explain some of the racial tensions in New York City that the film so
accurately portrayed.
Ruby Dee was nominated for an
Academy Award in 2007 for “American Gangster” opposite Denzel Washington, where she portrayed his mother. Back in the late
1970’s, she costarred opposite Harry
Belafonte and Sidney Poitier in one of my favorite films, “Buck and the
Preacher.”
In 1950, one of her first film
roles was as baseball legend Jackie
Robinson’s wife in the film, “The Jackie Robinson Story” opposite Robinson
himself. Years later, audiences were mesmerized by her riveting performance in
stage and screen versions of Lorraine
Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.”
Her acting career spanned over 70
years, but forget that Ruby Dee was also a prominent civil rights activist,
speaking out for equal rights, and joining with Her husband and other black
celebrities in supporting Dr. Martin
Luther King’s movement.
Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis won many
top awards together, and their work is even respected by new generations who
continue to discover their artistry on film and on television.
Queen Mother Ruby Dee was truly one
of the greats of stage, screen and television. Thank you, and your husband
Ossie, for all of your great work.
CASEY KASEM – I once directed
popular radio announcer Casey Kasem
back in 1988 over the phone in doing a campaign commercial for Rev. Jesse Jackson’s second run for the
presidency. Seriously, in fact, I directed both Kasem and Bill Cosby separately. And I still have those tapes.
Kasem, the founder of the
nationally syndicated radio program “America’s Top Forty,” was a broadcast
pioneer who specialized in big voices and big personalities. Generations of
kids grew up listening to him until his retirement in 2003. Kasem also voiced
many cartoon characters as well.
Casey Kasem
died last weekend after a long illness, and many in the broadcast world took
time to pay tribute to him. He certainly blazed a path.
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 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-
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