Urban News Features

Put An Asterisk On It! By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

Dec. 18, 2016

Put An Asterisk On It!
By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - By no stretch of the imagination am I a big baseball fan. Unlike many Americans, I’ll only watch a game under special circumstances. I rarely visit the ballpark. I am not glued in front of the television watching the endless stream of games broadcast during the summer. I am, however, a student of history. Milestone achievements capture my attention, especially when accomplished by Black Americans who are pre-eminent in their fields.

Such was the case when the the great Hank Aaron surpassed Babe Ruth's record of 714 homeruns in April of 1974. Remarkable in his feat was his focus on playing the game in the midst of numerous death threats designed to protect Ruth's record and to thwart his ascendance to the title of Home Run King. He overcame and retired with 755 home runs.

In the summer of 2007, I was also captured by the career achievement of Barry Bonds as he was poised to surpass the 755 homerun record set by Hank Aaron. Many remember that Bonds was enmeshed in a steroid-use scandal which threatened to taint any record-breaking achievement he might realize. In all of the excitement of his approaching milestone, I can remember one baseball announcer stating that "his (Bonds) record will always be marked with an asterisk." That was the announcer's way of saying that Bonds’ achievement would never be "clean." His "asterisk" comment allowed for those so inclined to view Bonds’ record critically, in a negative light, and as illegitimate.

Nine years later, another milestone has been reached. This time it has far greater consequences than the number of balls hit out of the playing area of a baseball field. For millions of Americans, this milestone threatens their livelihoods, quality of life, and, maybe, signals their personal death-knell. This milestone threatens to tear the fabric of our nation, however dry-rotted it may already be.

For the first time in American history, a President has been elected without having previously been elected to public office. The principle focus of this President-elect appears to be personal enrichment and self-aggrandizement. For a majority of Americans, he is unacceptable to hold this office and, for many, he never will be acceptable. As of this writing, his opponent, Hillary Clinton, has polled 2.8 million more popular votes than he did. His win is only attributable to an archaic, outdated element of the national founding - The Electoral College. If ever there was an illegitimate office-holder, Donald Trump is it!

Trump's short-fall in popular votes is matched only by the international scandal attached to his campaign. Seventeen agencies responsible for America's national security have reached consensus that a foreign government (Russia) hacked computer files generated in the US for the purpose of manipulating a Trump victory in this past election. Some will even remember Trump's treasonous encouragement of Russia to intensify its illegal scrutiny of his opponent's computer files.

In October, this Russian hacking and its purpose were known, but dissemination of this information was reportedly suppressed by partisan machinations of Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell. For those who have forgotten, this is the same McConnell who, rather than promoting national growth and progress, declared in 2009 that the greatest imperative of the Republican Party was to make President Obama a one-term President. McConnell and his House of Representative counterparts, Boehner and Ryan, enthusiastically worked to obstruct President Obama and subvert the national interest.

Most disappointing about the past month, is that Trump could inspire the basest spirits of our citizenry to advance his illegitimate agenda.

Today, like my predecessor of nine years ago, I say with full confidence that regarding the Trump Presidency, we may not immediately end it, but WE CAN PUT AN ASTERISK ON IT!!!

(Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. is National President of the National Congress of Black Women. 202/678-6788. www.nationalcongressbw.org)

Foreign Influence and the Integrity of Our Democracy By Marc H. Morial

Dec. 18, 2016

To Be Equal
Foreign Influence and the Integrity of Our Democracy
By Marc H. Morial

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government…The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is…to have with them as little political connection as possible.” — President George Washington, Farewell Address, September 17, 1796

In 1840, President Martin Van Buren was fighting for re-election. He ultimately lost his presidential bid to a war hero, William Henry Harrison, who easily won over the widely unpopular Van Buren, nicknamed, “Van Ruin,” for presiding over the nation during an economic depression. The presidential campaign of 1840 was heavy on image, and light on substance, painting Van Buren as an elitist and Harrison as an everyday man. Harrison—accused of being helped by British bankers during his campaign—won the Electoral College vote and an extremely close popular vote. In 1888, Grover Cleveland was favored to win his presidential re-election campaign, but ultimately lost the presidency because he appeared partial and subservient to British interests. The voters turned against him and his perceived British sympathies. While he managed to win the popular vote, he lost the Electoral College vote, and, hence, the presidency.

If the past is prologue, history suggests that Americans resent the interference of foreign governments and interests in our presidential elections. As evidence of Russian tampering via cyber-attacks and hacking continues to mount, and President-elect Trump has tapped Rex Tillerson as his Secretary of State—who Trump described as doing “massive deals in Russia” and was awarded the “Order of Friendship” by Vladimir Putin—it is the duty and obligation of our Congress to thoroughly investigate whether or not Russia has interfered with our election process to tip the scale for a Trump win and, in the process, undermine and sow distrust in our democracy and its institutions.

President Obama has ordered a full intelligence review of the alleged Russian hack into the Democratic and Republican National Committees to be completed before inauguration day. In a break with Trump, the top two Republicans in Congress have lent their support to a bipartisan congressional effort to investigate the alleged Russian cyber-attacks. Calling any breach of American cyber-security measures “disturbing,” Senator Mitch McConnell added that, “the Russians do not wish us well…It defies belief that somehow Republicans in the Senate are reluctant to either review Russian hacking, or ignore them.” As of my writing, it has been reported that more than 50 Democratic voters in the Electoral College are asking for an intelligence briefing from the director of National Intelligence into possible foreign intervention in the presidential election before the college meets to cast its vote for our next president and vice president.

Trump and his associates have dismissed the allegations of Russian interference, painting them as “ridiculous,” and “another excuse.” Trump has—quite characteristically—explained away the legitimate concerns of our institutions, political leaders, the press and the people by blaming the Democrats for disseminating conspiracy theories because “they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country,” to conceding that if there was any interference or hacking, “they have no idea if it’s Russia, or China, or somebody. It could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace,” he said in a televised interview.

Trump, and I’m sure many of his supporters, see the investigation into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election as an attempt to—yet again—delegitimize his recent win. But the president-elect would do better to understand that to not thoroughly investigate these allegations would leave a permanent stain on his administration, his tenure and his motives. To not look into these allegations seriously would further erode public trust in the already embattled mechanics of our democracy. If domestic voter suppression sits on one side of the coin, the unwanted influence of a foreign power in American elections sits on the other. Rather than enrich us, and our system of representative government, both serve to undermine true democracy.

Mothers of Police Brutality Victims Urge NFL to ‘Step Up’ By Hazel Trice Edney

Dec. 13, 2016

Mothers of Police Brutality Victims Urge NFL to ‘Step Up’
By Hazel Trice Edney

Unarmed Clinton Allen was shot seven times by a Dallas police officer three years ago. His mother, Collette Flanagan
is now asking the NFL to help end the scourge of police brutality and shootings of unarmed Blacks by police.

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - On any given Sunday afternoon, millions of Black men and women gather around their TVs, cheering on their favorite football teams. Then, when they leave their friends’ houses after the game, they must proceed with extreme caution as African-Americans - in comparison to Whites - are twice as likely to be arrested and almost four times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with the police, according to the Center for American Progress.

These stops – whether because of racial profiling or legitimate reasons - have too often ended in police brutality – even deaths of unarmed Black people. This is the reason that a group of mothers has now turned to the National Football League, which makes millions of dollars a year with Black support, to get involved with a goal of ending what often appears to be a relentless attack on Blacks by police.

“We are writing to request a meeting with you to discuss the ongoing national disgrace of unaccountable police shootings. We ask this because of our knowledge about the issue and because we have been approached by NFL players who would like to see the League more involved with projects that promote healing of our communities,” wrote Collette Flanagan, founder of Mothers Against Police Brutality in a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Mothers Against Police Brutality believes that the NFL could become a very effective voice in addressing this crisis, which involves thousands of families each year. We commend the NFL for its work on domestic violence, and we urge you to bring the same morale outrage to the unjust use of deadly force by police, which so closely impacts your players personally and the communities in which so many of them grew up. Now is the time for the NFL to step up.”

The letter goes on to ask Goodell to create a task force that would serve to help promote community healing and unity around the issue which has exploded nationally and internationally in recent years with the growth of social media organizing and viral cell phone videos showing actual brutality and police shootings.

The letter asks for a meeting to “discuss our work to end the national crisis of police deadly force, which claimed more than 1,000 lives last year, and to save lives, particularly the lives of young black and Latino men.”

It also asks Goodell to help “arrange meetings with players and owners; and urge the NFL to form a high level task force that will address police shootings, police use of excessive force, and innovative ways that policing can protect and serve the people of every community in America.”

Mothers Against Police Brutality, a national organization based in Dallas, was founded to end the “killing of unarmed and mentally ill persons by law enforcement agencies; to change the deadly force policies and practices in the City of Dallas and nationally to support families who have lost loved ones to police violence; and to help restore trust between the police and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect,” according to a statement from the organization.

Flanagan founded MAPB after her 25-year-old unarmed son, Clinton Allen, was shot seven times by a Dallas police officer in 2013. A grand jury refused to indict the officer, Clark Staller, in the killing after he and authorities claimed the unarmed Allen was assaulting him in the March 10, 2013 incident. Allen’s parents have contended that the shooting was not necessary and that he was not given immediate medical help even as he struggled to stay alive.

Flanagan’s letter sought to sensitize Goodell to the NFL’s responsibility to those who are among their primary supporters - Black men and women - as well as members of the NFL.

“The mothers in our organization – and, indeed, most African American mothers – fear for their son’s life whenever he encounters a police officer, including mothers of NFL players. An African American NFL player, when off the field, can be just as vulnerable to police violence as any other young black man in this country,” she wrote. “Players such as Colin Kaepernick, Anquan Boldin, Josh McCown, and others have taken on a vital role in the movement for justice in policing, and they should be encouraged to speak out.”

In the letter, Flanagan also commended the NFL for its efforts to stem domestic violence – a move that was largely the result of prodding from a different organization, the Black Women’s Roundtable, led by Melanie Campbell.

Flanagan urged Goodell “to bring the same morale outrage to the unjust use of deadly force by police, which so closely impacts your players personally and the communities in which so many of them grew up. Now is the time for the NFL to step up."

What Surely Tainted Our Election? Voter Suppression by Jesse Jackson

Dec. 18, 2016

What Surely Tainted Our Election? Voter Suppression
By Jesse Jackson

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The CIA conclusion that the Russians intervened in our elections in order to help elect Donald Trump has sent Washington into one of its fabled tizzies.

President Barack Obama has ordered an intelligence agency report before he leaves office. Democrats and responsible Republicans are calling for congressional investigations. Pundits are arguing the Russians — combined with FBI Director James Comey’s outrageous interventions — cost Hillary Clinton the election. In response, President-elect Trump is tweeting furiously about voter fraud, peddling lies about millions of illegal immigrants voting and many other things to distract from the escalating scandal.

Left out of this brouhaha is the systematic and purposeful voter suppression that certainly cost Clinton the election. The Russians didn’t do it. It was done by right-wing partisan state officials eager to suppress the vote of people of color, the young and the working poor. These efforts were open, systematic and widespread. And this domestic hacking at our elections was far more destructive than the hacking Russia is said to have done.

This was the first presidential election since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. According to the Brennan Center, 14 states passed voter suppression laws that were in effect for the first time in November, including swing states like Ohio and Wisconsin.

The steps taken to suppress the vote aren’t secret: new requirements of voter ID that discriminate against the poor, the elderly and disproportionately people of color; restrictions on use of college ID to impede student voting; closing registration weeks before Election Day; limiting early voting days, closing on Sundays; holding Election Day on a workday with limited hours for voting, making it difficult for those with inflexible hours to get to the polls; shutting down or moving polling places to confuse voters and force them to wait in long lines; purging voters from the polling lists, leaving them to cast provisional ballots at best; prohibiting felons who have paid their debt to society from ever recovering the right to vote, disproportionately impacting African-American men.

There is little doubt that these measures worked, and cost Clinton the election. In Wisconsin, for example, Trump’s margin of victory was 27,000. A record 300,000 registered voters lacked the newly required ID, contributing to the lowest turnout in 20 years. Turnout was down by more than 50,000 in Milwaukee where 70 percent of the state’s African-American population lives.

In North Carolina, black turnout was down 16 percent in the first week of early voting, in part because there were 158 fewer polling places in the 40 counties with large numbers of black voters. The targeting was intentional, with Republican officials celebrating the effects. The decision by the right-wing gang of five on the Supreme Court in the Shelby case effectively subverted the victory of the civil rights movement at Selma.

If Russians hacked the Democratic National Committee’s and the Clinton campaign’s emails to influence the election, it should be investigated. In an election decided by 80,000 votes in three states, it might have made a difference (as almost anything could in an election that close). But what is clear is that Russian hacking was not nearly as effective as the partisan systematic suppression of the vote. And that effort is continuing. Republicans in Missouri took control and moved to institute new voting ID restrictions for the next election. In Wisconsin, Republicans announced plans for new restrictions on early voting.

Why aren’t Democrats railing about voter suppression and demanding congressional investigation and action? Why haven’t university presidents and civil rights lawyers joined in a national commission to detail the suppression and demand a strengthening of the Voting Rights Act? Why aren’t pundits pounding on this, outing the state officials and legislators who did it and exposing the right-wing apparatus that orchestrated it? Is it because Russian interference is more exotic? Is it because neither party thinks suppression of the votes of people of color and the young is an unacceptable outrage?

I urge President Obama to launch an investigation and report on voter suppression to be released before he leaves office. President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to be the president of all Americans. If so, he should lead an effort to end voter suppression and to revive the Voting Rights Act. Democratic leaders say they want the party to build a broad majority coalition across lines of race. If so, they should be demanding an investigation of voter suppression and filibustering to force revival of the Voting Rights Act.

Inside the beltway, voter suppression isn’t hot. Republicans peddle the myth of voter fraud. Democrats cry foul on Russian interference. Neither party will focus on the biggest scandal of all: the fact that partisans in states across the country acted purposefully to suppress the right to vote of targeted groups of citizens. We didn’t win the right to vote from politicians. Citizens had to march and protest, bleed and die to win that right. We can’t count on politicians to defend the right to vote — they, after all, are elected under the distorted rules we have. Citizens of conscience must move to end voter suppression and clean up our elections.

Former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison by Frederick H. Lowe

Dec. 13, 2016

Former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

By Frederick H. Lowe

chakafattah7
Former Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Penn.)

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - A U. S. District Court judge Monday sentenced former Congressman Chaka Fattah, Sr., to 10 years in prison for his conviction last June on racketeering charges.

Judge Harvey Bartle of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia ordered the 60-year-old Fattah to report to prison in January. Fattah represented Pennsylvania’s 2nd Congressional District since 1994 until his defeat for re-election in April. The 2nd District includes North, South and West Philadelphia and Lower Merion in suburban Montgomery County.

A jury convicted Fattah of bribery, wire fraud and 27 other charges after a four-week trial. The jury found that Fattah took out an illegal $1 million loan to prop up his failed 2007 run for Philadelphia mayor. Fattah resigned in June from Congress shortly after his conviction.

While in Congress, Fattah was the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Commerce, Justice, and Science Committee. The subcommittee oversees billions in federal spending, including the budget of the Justice Department. He was also chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation the non-profit research organization that hosts the annual legislative conference of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Fattah also has been ordered to pay a $614,000 fine, and he will be supervised for three years following his release. Chattah Fattah Jr., his son, was sentenced to prison in February for defrauding Philadelphia banks. He was a Philadelphia businessman.