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CASH IN THE APPLE
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CASH IN THE APPLE
By Cash Michaels
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! - Just a quick shout out to my mom, Lillian, whose birthday it is today. Though she died in 2009, there's no reason to ever forget her. Happy Birthday, Mom!
BACK IN THE
HOSPITAL – I’m back in the hospital this week, but no need to worry, I’m
scheduled to be until Sunday. As I reported at the beginning of this month,
I’ve been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) since March, and have
undergone chemotherapy since then. This week I’m undergoing my third round of chemo, which is necessary
in order to ensure that there is no recurrence of the cancer cells that
initially compromised my immune system. I’m currently in remission now, meaning
there are no cancer cells detected in my body. I’m scheduled to go through this
week, spend three weeks home under outpatient care, then return for m last
schedule week of chemo in the hospital a month from now, and then check in once
every three months o make sure that that my body stays in remission.
Could I
relapse over the coming years? Yes. I have at least a 50 percent of doing so
over the next two years. But the longer I stay in remission, the least likely
it is that I will relapse. So that is
what I’m going with.
In the
meantime I am feeling stronger and better. I am back at work, and am more
conscious than ever about keeping my mind and body in better shape. For now, I
try not to go out in public in order to limit my exposure to infection. I’ve
had to miss a number of public events recently because of that medical
restriction, which I regret. But if it means being able to get through this
important period with out major complications, then so be it.
I’ve also
been impressed, and inspired, by notables like TNT Network sportscaster Craig Sager, and UNC – Chapel Hill Tar
Heel Women’s basketball Coach Sylvia
Hatchell, who reportedly also suffer from AML like I do, and are still
receiving treatment.
Sager was
given the chance to work his very first NBA finals game last week on ABC-TV.
Coach Hatchell has a best-selling book titled “Fight, Fight” about her personal
struggles battling the disease. So it looks like I’m in excellent company.
My goal is
to live my life normally come September. With GOD’s help and blessing, I will.
CLEVELAND
WINS – I must admit, even though I was pulling for the Golden
State Warriors to defeat the Cleveland
Cavaliers for the NBA Championship for a second year in a row, I did smile
when I saw Cavalier Captain LeBron James
relish the moment of winning championship for his hometown, and do so in
dramatic fashion by coming back from a three games-to-one deficit – and LeBron
and the boys worked hard for those victories to. So congratulations. Yes, I
used to be sour grapes because I wanted LeBron to stay with Dwayne Wade in Miami. But, I guess I
can settle for Kyrie Irving in Cleveland.
OJ : MADE
IN AMERICA – if you have cable and get ‘On Demand,” then go to the ESPN On
Demand channel to see the five-part series “OJ: Made in America,” an
extraordinary documentary project traces the life of one of history’s most
tragic sports figures, O. J. Simpson.
But more than that, the series also traces the racial history between Los
Angeles’ black community and the racist Los Angeles Police Dept.. It was that
well-known racism that played a role in helping to get Simpson acquitted when he was charged with the 1994 double murder of his
ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her
friend, Ronald Goldman. The series
brings it all back , and ironically shows how OJ actually enjoyed being a
highly celebrated black athlete in a white world, deliberately turning his back
on the black community.
This series
isn’t just about OJ, but brilliantly gives us a prime slice of black history
that is well documented and should not be missed. “OJ: Made in America” should
not be missed. Check it out on ESPN On Demand.
JULY
STARTUPS –In case you never knew it, most network TV series that premiere in
late September. October or November or even in January are taped or filmed in
July through August. Depending on when the show airs, it could be as much as
two months to just a few weeks from when an episode is filmed to when it airs.
For instance, the last episodes of CBS’ “NCIS” were filmed literally the month
before they aired last season. So it’s always interesting to see how the new
episodes reflect current events when
they air.
Cash in the Apple - honored as
the Best Column Writing of 2006 by the National Newspaper Publishers
Association. 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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FEDERAL APPELLATE
COURT
QUESTION 2013 VOTER
ID LAW
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
While a
federal judge in Winston-Salem last April decided that that there was nothing
about North Carolina’s 2013 voter ID law that should keep African-Americans or others
from lawfully casting their ballots, a three-judge federal panel Tuesday wasn’t
so sure.
Based on
remarks and questions coming from that panel of the US Fourth Circuit of
Appeals, attorneys for the NCNAACP “…feel very good about our case and the evidence
which we presented,” attorney Irving Joyner, chairman of the NCNAACP’s Legal
Redress Committee says. “We clearly hope that the Fourth Circuit will reverse
the District Court’s [April 25th] decision…. From there, it is on to the [US]
Supreme Court, no matter what the outcome is.”
Attorneys
for the state claim that the 2013 voting restrictions were necessary to stop
voting fraud.
The NCNAACP
and other plaintiffs appealed to the US Fourth Circuit to fast-track a stay of
a federal judge’s April 25th ruling dismissing their lawsuit against
Gov. Pat McCrory and the Republican-led NC General Assembly for their passage
of the 2013 voter ID law until all other appeals have been exhausted. The
original suit charged that the 2013 law
violated the constitutional rights of black voters. The appeal sought to “…keep
in place this Court’s prior injunction forbidding Defendants from eliminating
same-day registration and refusing to count out-of-precinct provisional
ballots” in addition to keeping in place the portion of the law that reduced
the early voting period by a week.
The voter
photo identification requirement began in earnest during the March 15th
primary. Unless the federal appellate court rules otherwise, the voter ID
provision will be in force for the Nov. 8th general election as
well.
Based on
the evidence presented, members of the three-judge panel openly questioned the
timing of the Legislature passing the 2013 voter ID law, with one judge, Henry
F. Floyd, saying that the intent to suppress the votes of people of color
“…Looks pretty bad to me.”
Another
Appellate Court judge, James A. Wynn, questioned why certain type of
government-issued photo identification, like public university or public
assistance ID cards, was disallowed.
Judge Wynn once served on the NC Court of Appeals.
There was
no word on when the three-judge panel would issue its decision, even though it
could, per the petition of the NCNAACP, the League of Women Voters and other
plaintiffs, order that the voter photo ID requirement not be implemented for
the November 8th general election.
“…Plaintiffs
believe they have a likelihood of success on the merits on this claim and that
voters will be irreparably harmed if the photo ID requirement is in effect in
the November 2016 presidential election,” the appeal reads. “Plaintiffs believe
that if and when they prevail on the photo ID claim, implementation of the
Court’s order will be straightforward and simple: the requirement will simply
fall away and voters will no longer be asked to show photo ID at the polls in
order to vote.”
However, as
atty. Joyner noted, there’s little doubt that attorneys for Gov. McCrory and
the Legislature would appeal such a ruling to the US Supreme Court, seeking an
injunction to halt any disruption of the 2013 law.
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JUDGE MIKE MORGAN
JUDGE MORGAN VIES FOR
HIGH COURT IN
NOVEMBER
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
After over 26
years on the North Carolina bench, Wake Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan
believes he now has the length and breath of experience to serve on the state Supreme
Court.
“Certainly
I’m better qualified than the incumbent who currently holds the seat,” Morgan
said during a phone interview Saturday.
Apparently
a lot of North Carolina voters agree with Judge Morgan. He was the second most
popular votegetter out of four during the June
7th special primary
behind incumbent NC Senior Associate Justice Robert H. Edmunds Jr. ,
thus securing a November battle.
But
unseating Justice Edmunds this fall will be a tall order, especially given that
the veteran jurist has the endorsement of several former Supreme Court
justices, just about every sheriff in the state, Gov. Pat McCrory, and the NC
Republican Party. In addition, the Republican-led NC General Assembly passed a
retention law last year so that Edmunds wouldn’t originally have to face
re-election. A subsequent Wake Superior Court panel ruled the retention law
unconstitutional however, and the state Supreme Court (minus Edmunds) heard
arguments in April for a final decision.
Until they
rule, Edmunds must run. If the justices split evenly, then the Wake judicial
panel’s ruling stands, and the retention law fails.
So Morgan
and Edmunds will now faceoff for Edmunds’ seat during the Nov. 8th
general election. Turnout will most likely not be an issue since there is also
a divisive presidential election on the ballot. Add to that races for North
Carolina governor and the US Senate, in addition to congressional and
legislative races, and Nov . 8th promises to deliver plenty of
voters to the polls.
The problem
could be by the time voters go through all of the candidates in the high
profile contests, they may not turn over their ballots to see that there is an
important High Court race on the other side.
That means
Judge Morgan, a registered Democrat, has lot of work to do across the state to
get his name, face and history in front of voters. The NCGOP pushed Edmunds for
the June primary, warning of a “liberal” state Supreme Court” if he lost.
Judicial candidates aren’t afforded
the luxuries of partisan politicians for elective office. Their allegiance is
supposed to be to upholding the law, not to a party or special money interest.
And judicial candidates are limited in what they can say when they run for
office.
And on top
of all of that, it is difficult for African-American candidates for statewide
office, like Morgan, to win in North
Carolina. NC Associate Justice Cheri Beasley barely won her seat in 2014, and
Linda Coleman lost by a whisker when she first ran for Lt. Governor in 2012.
That’s why
Judge Morgan is hopeful that his almost three decades on the bench at various
levels of state jurisprudence – longer than Justice Edmunds - will prove to the
voters in November that he is worthy of their consideration. State administrative law judge for five years;
district court judge for ten years; and his current position of superior court
judge for eleven years.
“Add to
that that my opponent, while he has been a Supreme Court justice, and is
currently in that seat, has never been a trial judge.,” says Judge Morgan. ”Supreme
Court justices review the courts’ records that are generated in the lower
courts. They are a reviewing court to see what errors have been committed
potentially in the courts below.”
A review of
Justice Edmunds’ record confirms that while he has been a state and federal
litigator, in addition to serving on the state Court of Appeals and Supreme
Court for sixteen years, he has never been a trial judge.
“Experience
is the best qualification for a member of the judiciary,” Justice Edmunds says
on his re-election website.
Judge
Morgan agrees, which is why he believes hearing evidence on everything from state
personnel matters to criminal cases, to even the recent voter ID controversy,
has properly prepared him for the role of state Supreme Court justice.
“My
opponent has never been a trial judge, so as a result [he’s] handicapped by
virtue of having a lack of experience that I would have to be able to look at
the record, know what it should have been, know what it shouldn’t have been,
and therefore understand if there have been any errors committed in the courts
below.”
Beyond a
wealth of trial judge experience, Morgan also differs from Edmunds when it
comes to judicial philosophy. Justice Edmunds prides himself on a “strict”
adherence to interpreting the law through the Constitution. For many, that’s
another way of assuring supporters that he is a conservative.
“Judges
ought not have any predisposition or proclivity of any kind in terms of a
political leaning as to how one is going to look at a case,” Judge Morgan says.
“ [Justice Edmunds] doesn’t say he’s a fair and impartial judge. He says he’s a
conservative judge. That not only impairs his ability to be fair and impartial,
but one who is looking for fairness and impartiality can’t help but look at
this announced proclivity to be conservative before even looking at a case in
terms of wondering if indeed justice is being rendered. And it’s important not
only that justice be rendered, but that there be the appearance of justice
being rendered in every case.”
“This [NC
Supreme Court] seat must be guaranteed to be fair and impartial, and the fact
that I’ve been elected and re-elected by the great citizens of Wake County
shows that I have that capacity,” Judge Morgan, who proudly adds that he has
been rated high for his professionalism and integrity by his legal peers, says.
If Morgan
wins in November, he will be one of two African-Americans serving on the seven-member
NC Supreme Court, but the only black male. And while Morgan is sensitive to the
importance and appearance of an African-American male serving on the state’s
highest court, he says it’s even more important that people look past his color
and see a better qualified, fair candidate.
“When I
travel across the state, people are very excited about my campaign,” Judge
Morgan says. “I like to think that I’m a unique enough candidate who just
happens to be African-American. I’m not running because of my race.”
The stakes
are high in the Morgan – Edmunds race, because the winner decides the ideological
balance of power on the 4-3 conservative state High Court. Republicans in the
Legislature were all too transparent when they passed a retention law last year
to protect Edmunds from having to face an election, wanting to ensure that the
court remained in GOP hands.
Morgan’s
election would throw a monkey- wrench in that plan.
A native of Cherry Point, NC, Mike Morgan
is the oldest of five children. He
graduated from New Bern public schools. Morgan got his B.A.
in both History and Sociology from Duke University in 1976. He earned his Juris
Doctor Degree with honors from North Carolina Central University in 1979. From
1983 to 1989, Morgan was an assistant state Attorney General in the NC Dept of
Justice. From 1989 to 1994, he served as a NC administrative law judge; from
1994 to 2004 a district court judge; and from 2005 to the present a Wake County
superior court judge.
“I love
what I do,” Judge Morgan says. “I feel that after this length of service, I’m
due for a promotion and ready for greater service. I hope that the people of
North Carolina agree that I am ready.”
-30-
TRIANGLE NEWS BRIEFS 6-23-16
DURHAM CIVIL
RIGHTS LEADER ANN ATWATER, 80, DIES
A black
woman who befriended a KKK leader during the height of racial tension in Durham during the 1970s has died. Ann
Atwater, 80, is best known for
Becoming friends with KKK leader C. P. Ellis during ten days
of workshops designed to bring people together during Durham school
desegregation. Ellis ripped up his KKK membership card on the last day of the
meetings, saying he couldn’t hate black people anymore. Ms. Atwater spoke at
Ellis’ funeral in 2005. A film is reportedly scheduled to be made about the
Atwater – Ellis relationship starring Taraji P. Henson.
RALEIGH CITY COUNCIL
TURNS THUMBS DOWN TO POLICE, FIREFIGHTERS PAY DEMANDS
A divided
Raleigh City Council rejected police and firefighter demands for pay raises
beyond the 3.5 per cent that all city employees are scheduled to receive in the
new $859 million for the upcoming fiscal budget. Public safety employees
complain that they can’t afford to live in the very city they protect. Police and
firefighters demanded a 15 percent pay hike. A paid consultant is scheduled to
complete a compensation study for the city by next spring.
FOOD LION STARTS HOME
DELIVERY IN RALEIGH AND DURHAM
Shoppers in certain zip codes in Raleigh and Durham can
now have their groceries delivered to them at home from Food Lion for a fee.
The service is already up and running in Charlotte. Shoppers in the 27605, 27601, 27608, 27609,
27607, 27612, 27615, 27560, 27513, 27511, 27518, 27606, 27701, 27514, 27707,
27705, and 27510 zip codes can now take advantage of this new service by going
to www.foodlion.com/homedelivery. They can
also access the service through the
Instacart app. Even though fees are normally charged, there is no fee for the
first delivery.
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