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CASH IN THE APPLE
7-9-15
By Cash Michaels
THE COSBY MESS – Needless to say,
the big, big news this week has been the release of 2005 court documents by The
Associated Press showing that in a deposition to defend against a civil
suit that he drugged and then raped a female employee at Temple University,
comedian Bill Cosby admitted to
purchasing mind-altering drugs for the purpose of drugging women to have sex
with them.
For those who were holding out for
solid evidence that Cosby was indeed guilty of what up to 40 women this far
have accused him of doing, this should be the proverbial nail in that coffin.
Some have pointed out that later in the deposition, Cosby says he misunderstood
the question. Hey Bill, when you “misunderstand” a question during a legal
proceeding, the usual custom is to say that you don’t understand it, and then
ask the questioner to repeat it for your benefit.
But let’s say, for the sake of
argument, that you, in fact, did misunderstand the question. Let’s say, as your
attorneys seem to suggest, that the women you got the drugs to give to for sex
actually wanted the drugs, and that the sex was consensual. Then where are they
Bill? Why can’t any of them, even just one, come forward and defend you with,
“Oh yeah, Bill and I used to party back in the day, and we had a grand old
time.”
So far, no one has steppe forward
to say such a thing, Bill.
Plus, you’ve been lying through
your teeth, apparently, when you denied “ever” drugging women for sex. That’s
the reason you’ve been dragged into court now, sued by at least one of your
alleged victims for slander when you called her a liar. She didn’t like that,
Bill, and got her attorneys to petition the court for your 2005 court case
records.
Just your luck The Associated Press petitioned the court as well, and got to them
first.
So now your reputation is
completely in the toilet, Bill. There are parents who are sickened by the
thought that you may have drugged women against their will so you could have
your way with them. They are sickened that you have starred in many family
television programs promoting family values, and have written many books about
family, and was even considered “America’s Dad” because of your popular “The
Cosby Show” on NBC.
Parents, and even those of us who
grew up watching you from your days as a spokesman for Jello, just can’t get
over how different you were in your personal life. Yes, we know that your only
son, Ennis, was murdered. And that
one of your daughters, Erin, dated
boxer Mike Tyson and developed a drug problem. It’s in your autobiography.
And of course we know about Autumn Jackson, the young girl who
tried to blackmail you for $20 million claiming to be your daughter from an
affair that you allegedly had with her mother many years earlier.
So the fact that you didn’t have a
perfect family life is well-documented, and all that I’ve stated above is
public record, including your admission many years ago that you had indeed
strayed from your marriage with Camille, something you promised to fix.
But these revelations from the 2005
court records per sworn testimony, and the mounting allegations from at least
forty women, paint the picture of a man who can only be described as an alleged
serial rapist, a man with definite problems. The fact that all of this is
coming out now, in the twilight of your career, is both painful and shameful.
How you’re able to look at yourself in the mirror is beyond most of us.
How this mess will ultimately end,
Bill Cosby, no one knows. Someone talked about forgiving you, similar to how the
family members of the victims of the Charleston church massacres forgave the
alleged killer. Those family members, in my opinion, had the right to decide
whether they would forgive or not. That was not anyone else’s call.
In the case of Cosby, though, should
he be forgiven? Should he be forgiven for his admitted transgressions? That’s
up to the women he alleged violated, and right now, it sounds as if they aren’t
in the mood.
But then there’s the case of Cosby
lying to all of us all these years. Can we, and should we forgive him for that?
To be fair, Cos still employs lawyers
whose sole purpose is to hide the truth as much as possible in order to
properly defend their client. But they work for him, which means they stop when
he tells them to stop.
Yes, this is a tragedy all around.
If you’re a parent with girls, then I don’t have to tell you how the Cosby case
sends chills down your spine at just the thought of someone doing the same
thing to your daughters.
As I said, how this ends, no one
knows, except GOD.
FISHBURNE JOINS “ROOTS” – By now
you know that actor LeVar Burton is
bringing a new version of Alex Haley’s
“Roots” back to television, to air on the Arts
and Entertainment Cable Network. Burton, you’ll recall, became a star with
his portrayal of Kunta Kinte, the
African ancestor of author Haley. The
original “Roots” mini-series aired on ABC-Television in January 1977 for eight
straight historic nights, garnering record ratings for the period, and starting
a discussion about race the country had never seen before.
We don’t know what the full cast
for Burton’s new version will be, but we learned this week that veteran actor Lawrence Fishburne has just signed on
to portray Alex Haley in the eight-parter.
As more casting news becomes
available, you’ll read it here.
Make sure you tune in every Thursday
afternoon at 4 p.m. for my talk radio show, ''Make It Happen'' on Power 750
WAUG-AM, or online at www.waug-network.com. And read more about my
thoughts and opinions exclusively at my blog, ‘The Cash Roc” (http://thecashroc.blogspot.com/2011/01/cash-roc-begins.html).
Cash in the Apple - honored as the
Best Column Writing of 2006 by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.
Columnist Cash Michaels was also honored by the NNPA for Best Feature Story
Journalist of 2009, and was the recipient of the Raleigh-Apex NAACP’s
President’s Award for Media Excellence in Sept. 2011.
Until next week, keep a smile on your
face, GOD in your heart, and The Carolinian in your life. Bye, bye.
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NC NAACP PREPARES FOR
VOTING RIGHTS TRIAL
By Cash Michaels
An analysis
On Monday
in a federal courtroom in Winston – Salem, NCNAACP
v McCrory, a trial with implications far beyond the borders of North Carolina
begins, and once again, the North Carolina NAACP and its coalition partners –
otherwise known as the Forward Together Movement – are right in the middle of
it.
At issue:
whether the voting restrictions passed by the Republican-led NC General
Assembly in 2013 violated the constitutional rights of African-American and other citizens of color, who prior to
their passage, enjoyed unfettered access to the polls on Election Day.
The
defendants – Gov. Pat McCrory and the NC Legislature – say changes like requiring
voter photo identification; shortening the early voting period by a week,
eliminating same-day registration and no longer allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to
pre-register in time to qualify to vote, were simply safeguards against voter
fraud and designed to protect the integrity of North Carolina’s electoral
process.
The
plaintiffs – the NCNAACP, Ms. Rosanelle Eaton and the US Justice Dept, among
others – reply that there was no, and still is no discernable voter fraud for
the NC voter restrictions to address, and the changes were simply a major
attempt by the Republican governor and his GOP legislative majority to suppress
the black and youth vote, two traditionally Democrat-leaning voting blocks, for
years to come.
“The North
Carolina General Assembly knew that this law would discriminate against
African-American voters but passed it anyway,” the NCNAACP’s lawsuit alleges.
“Voters of color are more likely to use early voting and same-day registration
because, after centuries of racial discrimination in North Carolina, they
continue to lag behind whites in income, education, access to transportation
and residential stability.”
Beyond
claiming that the 2013 NC voting law violated the 14th and 15th
amendment rights to the US Constitution of African-Americans, Hispanics,
college students and the elderly, the lawsuit also claims that the law violates
Section 2 of the 1965 US Voting Rights Act, which “…prohibits practices (like
poll taxes and literacy tests historically) that result in African American and
Latinos having less opportunity than other members of the electorate to vote.”
The stakes are enormous, especially
for the upcoming 2016 gubernatorial, legislative and presidential elections. If
the entire 2013 omnibus voting law is deemed unconstitutional in federal court
after what’s presumed will be a six-week trial, the shockwaves will provide a
template for similar cases across the nation, delivering a critical blow to the
Republican voter suppression movement.
Indeed, as indicated before, even
the Obama Administration’s US Justice Dept., now under the leadership of North
Carolina native US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, is a plaintiff in the case,
effectively partnering the weight and resources of the federal government with
one of the premier state chapters of the world’s most prominent civil rights
organization.
If the legal effort fails to uproot
North Carolina law, then until Democrats reclaim the NC Legislature – which may
not occur for several years thanks to redrawn voting maps (which are also being
challenged in court) that keep Republicans in power until at least 2020 – the
voting restrictions, key elements of which go into effect in 2016, will become
a way of life in the Old North State.
There has been a chink in the
defendants’ legal armor, however.
Without warning last month, the
state Legislature passed, and Gov. McCrory signed into law, a relaxation of the
stringent rules governing the 2013 voter photo ID requirements.
Now, those who do not have a
government-issued photo identification to show at the polls when they vote will
be able to fill out an affidavit declaring a hardship that prevented them from
obtaining one. That voter would still have to present either a valid utility
bill or Social Security card with birth date to prove who they are.
Critics charged that these
provisions could have been included in the original 2013 law without a problem,
but Republican legislative leaders countered that they needed two years of
feedback on the measure in order to make to the proper adjustments for the
“good” of the voter.
With the much-anticipated federal
trial in Winston-Salem coming up, in addition to a separate case in state court
focusing solely on the photo ID provision, many observers saw the unexpected move
to soften the voter ID law as an acknowledgment that the state would lose if it
didn’t take some of the teeth out of the NCNAACP case.
Attorney Irving Joyner, chair of
the NCNAACP Legal Redress Committee and one of the attorneys representing the
NCNAACP in the case, says while the change is significant, it doesn’t impact
their basic argument that the entire 2013 voter law is corrupt.
“The state was getting ready to
lose its case in both state and federal court, and they recognized the wealth
of both information and evidence that we had amassed that will be presented in
court to show the discriminatory impact that the voter ID portion of the law
has had, and will have on African-Americans,” Joyner told The Carolinian last week.
“So this was a kind of a ploy by
the state to get away from a sure defeat in court where the court would have
declared that what [the state] had done violated the [US] Constitution,” Joyner
added. He went on to say that the plaintiffs will continue the battle in court
regardless because “whatever they’ve done is not sufficient to cover all of the
deficiencies and all of the problems which exist with the law.”
Recognizing the historic nature of
NCNAACP v McCrory, the Forward Together Movement is rallying the state,
encouraging all to come to Winston-Salem on Monday to take part in a “Mass
Moral Monday March for Voting Rights” at 5 p.m. at Corpening Plaza, 231 W. 1st
Street.
“Today we find ourselves fighting to hold on to the very things that they won 50 years ago,” says NC NAACP Pres. Rev. William Barber. “This is no small moment and we have all been chosen for this. The moment is bigger than any individual.”
“Today we find ourselves fighting to hold on to the very things that they won 50 years ago,” says NC NAACP Pres. Rev. William Barber. “This is no small moment and we have all been chosen for this. The moment is bigger than any individual.”
For more information email forwardtogether@naacpnc.org.
-30-
TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS
7-9-15
RALEIGH CITY COUNCIL
CONSIDERS CONTROVERSIAL REZONING PLAN
Raleigh City Council chambers
were packed Tuesday evening as concerned citizens wanted to hear details on a
new rezoning plan that could change approximately 30 percent of the city,
making it more business-friendly.
Residents have reservations, however, about more traffic, lowering
property values and other problems associated with increased growth. Whole
neighborhoods could be negatively affected, many say. The council took no
action Tuesday, but will revisit the plan at future dates.
GRAND JURY INDICTS
FOUR IN MURDER OF CARY TEENAGER
A Wake
County grand jury has indicted four high school students with the first-degree
murder of 16-year-old Katie Burdick-Crow of Green Hope High. Authorities say
Burdick-Crow was killed after she was robbed of drugs she was selling and tried
to stop the perpetrators by jumping onto their getaway truck, only to fall off
and die of her injuries. Indicted were Joshua Odell Simmons, 17, Abijah James Masse, 17, Beth Marie
Strange, 18, and Jourdan Chanquion Mack, 20, - all from Morrisville. Mack and
Strange face the death penalty if convicted.
FORMER WCPSS TRANSPORTATION
CHIEF KILLED IN GA. ACCIDENT
Vern Hatley, 67, the former Wake
County Public Schools transportation director who served time in prison after
being convicted in a kickback scheme, died in an auto accident along with his
wife, Willie Mae, 65, and another passenger in Lithonia, Ga. Sunday. Reportedly
an SUV ran a red light, hitting their vehicle. The 27-year-old SUV driver has
been charged with three-counts of vehicular homicide, driving while impaired,
hit and run and failure to obey a red light.
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS
7-9-15
WOMAN FILES $5
MILLION DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST 2 CHAINZ
[CHARLOTTE] A Charlotte woman
who claims that a video featuring her that was posted by rapper 2Chainz and an
associate has cost her her job, so she’s suing him in Mecklenburg Superior
Court for $5 million. Christine Chisholm says she was invited backstage after
the rappers’ show at the Fillmore Theater where the video was shot. When
2Chainz (whose real name is Tauheed Epps) then posted the video on Youtube and
other websites, he referred to Chishom as a THOT (that hoe over there).
Chisholm claims in her suit that as “a direct result” of that video and its
posting, she has been subject to
harassment, and lost her job. 2 Chainz has not responded to the suit.
ONLY TWO PERCENT OF
STATE’S MAGISTRATES ARE REFUSING MARRIAGES
[GREENSBORO]
A month after the NC General Assembly overrode Gov. McCrory’s veto of a law
allowing all 672 state magistrates to refuse to conduct same-sex marriages or
issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on religious objections, the state
Administrative Office of the Courts reports that only 14, thus far, have
actually invoked the law. The report does not identify which counties the 14
operate in, and nor does the report identify them by name. Opponents of the law
says magistrates are sworn public employees who are tasked to serve everyone. The law’s supporters say magistrates with
religious objections should be protected.
STATE HOUSE REPUBLICAN
BLASTS GOV. MCCRORY’S “IGNORANCE”
[RALEIGH]
After Gov. Pat McCrory criticized the Republican-led NC General Assembly for
changing how the Greensboro City Council is elected by eliminating its at-large
seats in favor of eight separate districts, Republican House member Rep.
Michael Speciale of New Bern took to his Facebook page and accused McCrory, a
fellow Republican, of criticism “borne out of ignorance.” Speciale went on to
charge that McCrory is constantly grandstanding in the press.” Critics have charged
that the voting districts in Greensboro were changed to lessen the impact of African-Americans in City
Council elections.
-30-
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