Politics and Current
North Carolina primary voters, still recovering from Helene, exceed 2020 voter turnout
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – More North Carolinians turned out to vote on the primary day early voting this yr than in 2020, whilst residents within the state’s mountainous western part continued to get better from devastating impacts Hurricane Helene.
Preliminary data shows a record 353,166 people solid ballots at greater than 400 early voting sites across the state on Thursday, up from 348,599 on the primary day of October 2020, the State Board of Elections reported Friday.
As North Carolina’s population and variety of registered voters proceed to grow, Thursday’s voter totals as a percentage of the state’s current variety of registered voters were barely down in comparison with the share of the electorate 4 years ago, in line with data provided by the board. On Thursday, the share was 4.54% of the state’s 7.78 million voters, while in 2020 on the primary day it was 4.78% of the 7.29 million registered voters on the time.
The variety of ballots solid and voters registered Thursday is predicted to extend as county boards of elections proceed to report data, said board spokesman Pat Gannon.
Lines and packed parking lots were common Thursday at voting locations in densely populated Piedmont counties and the mountain region, where historic flooding has destroyed homes, roads and bridges and damaged power and water systems. The board said Friday it had not received any reports of great issues or problems with the vote.
Thursday’s turnout “is a clear signal that voters are excited about this election, that they have confidence in the electoral process and that the hurricane will not prevent North Carolinians from exercising their right to vote,” state board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said in a message. release. Election officials said Thursday’s turnout likely benefited from clear, sunny weather.
Helene was the deadliest hurricane to hit the continental United States since Katrina in 2005, decimating distant towns throughout Appalachia and killing not less than 246 people, with just over half of those storm-related deaths in North Carolina.
Although power has been almost fully restored in western North Carolina, tens of 1000’s of individuals would not have access to scrub running water. Still, all but 4 of the 80 early voting sites originally scheduled for the 25 western counties hardest hit by the storm were open Thursday.
“Obviously, any time something this cataclysmic happens, it’s going to disrupt people’s lives,” first-time voter Bill Whalen, 75, of Asheville, said Thursday, but “at least in my area, there’s a general understanding of the importance of these elections and how important voting is.”
The early voting period, which runs through November 2 in all 100 counties, is amazingly popular in North Carolina. More than 3.6 million ballots were solid during early voting within the 2020 general election, or 65% of all ballots. A voter can concurrently register to vote and solid a ballot inside 17 days.
Traditional mail-in voting began a couple of days before Helene arrived within the state. As of Thursday, greater than 75,000 ballots had been received from state, military and overseas voters, the commission said.
In addition to president, North Carolina’s ballot also includes races for governor, attorney general and several other other statewide positions. All seats within the U.S. House of Representatives and General Assembly are also up for re-election.
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Politics and Current
If it weren’t for Abraham Lincoln, ‘coloured people’ ‘would not have’ basketball, Indiana Republican tells black C-Span host in racist on-air tirade
A caller identifying himself as Rick, a Republican from Indiana, called C-Span Sunday to remind viewers what people in power looked like 70 years ago.
Or perhaps it was all a joke. Or a challenge. Or the results of one too many moonshines.
Or perhaps it serves as a reminder that Donald Trump’s re-election has empowered racists to say the silent part out loud.
Rick, from Crawfordville, Indiana, was clearly wanting to be noticed, telling the show’s black host, Kimberly Adams, that in keeping with the Bible, “men should rule the home” and girls should “just clean.”
“But anyway, sidebar, you know, ever since Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed, boy, chaos has gone to hell, it’s gone hand in hand with the Democrats.” Rick said. “And what really annoys me, Kimberly, is that these people of color are always saying Trump is so bad.”
Rick’s use of the word “colourful”, a derogatory term utilized by more polite racists as an alternative choice to the N-word, tells you all the pieces it’s good to learn about his standpoint.
But if there was any doubt, Rick didn’t back down from his own Bull Connor-inspired conversation topics (Connor was Birmingham, police commissioner in Alabama for 24 years, famous for using fire hoses and police attack dogs against civil rights demonstrators).
“Can’t they think back to the time of their ancestors when the British came to them and things like that?” he asked. “I don’t understand why the hell people of color, Republicans, were the ones who released them. The Democrats held them there for slavery. I just don’t understand it.”
For those wondering why Adams didn’t chime in, well, that is not how it works for a C-Span host. Company policy requires them to maintain their opinions to themselves.
But Adams needed to quietly have a good time when Rick’s line began to creak.
“Rick, your line is breaking a little,” she said hopefully.
Unfortunately, Rick’s line got here back in time to lecture Black people on why they needs to be more grateful.
“If it weren’t for Abraham Lincoln, these guys wouldn’t have had a basketball game or a football game,” he said, before concluding with a warning from the Bible, issue of Revenge.
“Seriously, weather-wise, it’s going to be bad in the south,” Rick said. “So all you people, Democrats in the South, you better repent now because the storm is coming your way.”
It’s unclear whether Rick is an actual person or an actual parody, but commenters on Raw Story, which published the story on Monday, mostly took him literally.
“He’s just some idiot who probably still lives in his mother’s basement (basements are a thing in rural Indiana),” one viewer said. “Don’t shit yourself here. Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania are full of people who know nothing about anything outside their local inbreeding bubble.”
Another said that Rick is just not only a throwback, but in addition a glance into America’s Trumpian future:
“MAGA rats are getting closer to using the n-word in national media. Good luck with kindness, America, if they can pull it off. Where does the GOP find these simpletons?”
Another commenter, borrowing a page from Trump, questioned Rick’s roots:
“I bet he graduated from a school in Florida.”
Politics and Current
Racial Justice Experts Condemn Trump’s Attack on DEI in Schools as Perpetuating ‘White Delusions’
Activists and education experts are sharply criticizing President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal for “reparations” for so-called “victims” who’re discriminated against in diversity, equity and inclusion teaching programs, also known as DEI.
Trump and Republicans’ goal in eliminating DEI from public education, Johns said, is to “prevent students and censored individuals from engaging in critical thinking in a way that makes it easier to maintain this regime.”
In the video, Trump promised to make use of the Justice Department’s authority to “pursue federal civil rights cases” against schools that “racially discriminate and schools that persist in overt, unlawful discrimination under the guise of equity.”
The president-elect announced that grants from schools promoting racial equality could be taxed and fined. He proposed that “part of the confiscated funds should then be used to compensate the victims of these illegal and unjust policies… that have hurt our country so much.”
While some online have described Trump’s proposal as “reparations” for white people, racial justice advocates explain that the term is misleading.
“It’s really necessary that we do not loosen up with the word ‘compensation.’ He himself didn’t use the word ‘reparations,’ and I feel it is vital that we do not start overusing that term, especially as we proceed to try to coach people on what it means,” said Dr. Marcus Anthony Hunter, author of Radical Reparations: Healing the Soul of a Nation “.
Dr. Johns said Trump’s “restitution” proposal might be higher described as “grievance subsidies” for white people. The scholar and activist said Trump’s renewed attacks on DEI are nothing latest.
“What he did is consistent with what the Daughters of the Confederacy did after the Civil War,” Johns said, referring to the group’s promotion of a false “Lost Cause” ideology that minimized the role of slavery as a reason behind the Civil War and portrayed the Confederacy in a more positive light.
No federal law currently prohibits educational programs deemed DEI, except the ban on race-based admissions, also known as affirmative motion, invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023. However, several governors have attempted to ban DEI programs through state-level laws. It’s also unclear whether Trump can actually impose a penalty on school funds as he claims.
Dr. Hunter said Trump’s claim for “restitution” in equity reminded him of a 2023 racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a white student attending Howard University Law School. Although the coed’s claim of being “treated differently” due to his race was the identical released A federal judge allowed his case to be heard under the guise of losing his scholarship on “racial grounds.”
“For a lot of these things, you have to be able to prove verifiable damages,” Hunter said. “So a few of what (Trump) says will occur isn’t possible because people cannot really prove the damage. “It’s also a rhetorical conversation that’s just very dangerous.”
“When it comes to redress for victims, I’m really not sure where they go from there,” James said. “I have not heard of students who have concerns that DEI programs on campuses or at their institutions are discriminatory against them.” She added: “I would like to know more about where they get arguments like victimization.”
Ultimately, advocates warn that eliminating DEI from classrooms will undo what little progress has been made in diversifying schools and raising multicultural knowledge.
“DEI is truly part of how we ensure an inclusive society that prioritizes belonging and allows everyone to thrive safely,” Dr. James said. “So the idea that we are eliminating DEI teachings and principles in schools means that we are trying to divide our society as a whole.”
She continued: “Removing these programs means that we are going to see a scarcity of culturally responsive teaching on the a part of teachers, which implies they’ll not recognize or use instructional materials that teach different histories that reflect different cultures and different identities. “
NBCJC’s Dr. Johns warns that the implications of attacks on DEI and Trump’s proposal to eliminate the Department of Education can have more serious consequences for Black, Brown and LGBTQ students and teachers.
“I even have witnessed and are available into contact with children who experience political persecution that limits their access to care, their access to affirming and supportive educators, their ability to seek out after-school groups and programs where they will be affirmed and know that they’re brilliantly and splendidly done thoroughly as they’re,” Johns said.
He continued: “They have few lifelines that prevent them from having fun, let alone pursuing the option of suicide, which continues to increase in numbers when we think about black youth in general, and then racial and ethnic minority youth who are also members of sexual groups, minority communities.”
“Where do teachers go when they are wrongfully targeted by white actors? Where do we tell people to complain?” Johns asked.
However, Dr. Johns reminds us that public education and the “prison industrial complex” “were never intended to affirm the benefits or otherwise ensure the well-being of black people, which is why we have a long tradition of creating institutions that do this work.”
He added: “I hope that churches, communities, associations and organizations, many of which we show up in ministry, will understand the need to fill this gap in a radically inclusive and loving way.”
Politics and Current
UFC champion Jon Jones does the ‘Donald Trump dance’
Jon Jones’ electrifying TKO victory over Stipe Miocic on November 16 left his claim as the best fighter in UFC history virtually undisputed as he defended his heavyweight title, defeating the 42-year-old Miocic with a devastating spinning kick to the midsection that stopped him.
According to Jones interrupted his victory at Madison Square Garden, imitating Donald Trump’s dance, later presenting him with the title and celebrating with the president-elect.
Jones’ post-fight speech mainly focused on his desire to proceed fighting in the UFC, even at the age of 37.
“I’ve decided that perhaps I won’t retire and that I would like to have some conversations with (UFC President) Dana (White) and (UFC Chief Business Officer) Hunter (Campbell) and we’d like to do some negotiations and if all goes well, possibly we’ll provide you with the whole lot you wish to see,” Jones told UFC’s Joe Rogan.
Jones also praised his opponent, who was unable to inform whether Jones’ offense had an effect on him or not until he received a devastating kick to the stomach.
“It’s like fighting the Terminator,” Jones explained to Rogan. “It’s very, very discouraging to hit someone who doesn’t reply to it. But that body shot, regardless of how strong you might be, liver is liver.
Jones expressed his appreciation for Trump, who was at ringside alongside White and Elon Musk. Trump was also joined by House Speaker Mike Johnson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kid Rock.
“I want to thank President Donald Trump very, very much for being here tonight,” Jones said, prompting a loud ovation that was a “USA! USA!” chant.
Dana White is a longtime friend and supporter of Trump. he spoke at the 2016 and 2024 Republican National Conventions, each times at Trump’s request.
According to the Associated Press, Jones praised White’s connections to Trump on the eve of the event at MSG, telling reporters: “Seeing Dana on stage during the election, I feel like that moment just lifted the entire sport. Americans and people from all over the world were asking: who is this bald guy? It represents all of us.”
Rogan also hosted Trump on his podcast during a three-hour interview and encouraged Trump to make false claims about voting, voter fraud and Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election.
Rogan also endorsed Trump in the presidential election, and his appearance on Rogan’s show was a part of Trump’s strategy to have interaction young male voters through recent media during his campaign.
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