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/'resident Harack Obumu prepares to meet with members of I
his stuJJ in the Oval Office on Sept. 9.
Tea Party Out
to Cripple
Obama
In just a few weeks, we will lace a critical turning point
for our nation On Tuesday, November 2, your family's
future, the strength of your community and the direction of
our country will be on the ballot
I he choice is simple , and the stakes have never been
higher
Should we keep pushing forward towards the brighter
days that are |ust ahead Or will we allow the forces of intol
William
Clav
(>ues(
( olumnisl
erance, ignorance ana uivi
Mon to lake America back to a
much darker time?
So, to all of my
Republican colleagues and
their new Tea Party friends, I
have a message for you:
We're not taking one step
back.
Hard-working families
across this country, especially African Americans, know all
too well the pain that this recession has caused. New Census
figures show that one in seven Americans is living below the
poverty line That shocking figure includes 25 percent of
African Americans
So while we're fighting to create jobs, preserve families,
and lilt up our communities, what is the Republican plan .'
? rhey want you to stay home on H lection Day so that
they can elect their lea Party extremists to Congress.
? I he\ want to put insurance companies back in charge
of your health care
? rhey want to give Wall Street speculators a tree pass to
engage in new reckless financial schemes
? They want to give millionaires a tax cut by adding $700
billion to the deficit.
? I'hey want to privatize arid cut Social Security.
And that's not the worst of it The Republican Tea Party's
real objective is to use fear, ignorance and intolerance to
cripple President Obama Hut we won't let that happen. Not
this time Not tins year We're not taking one step back.
We're not going to allow them to take this country back
into the darkness With your vote, we're going to keep
America moving forward into the light
With your vote, we're going to give President Obama the
tools he needs to create jobs, fight poverty, close disparities
in health care and education, extend unemployment benefits,
defend Social Security and- fight for all of us.
Your vote is vital on Tuesday, November 2.
Htp William I mi v < lu\. u Demiu rat. represents the First
( Hill/" utnnl l)i stru t nf Missouri
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I Support Jerry Herron
John
Polite
Guest
Columnist
In 2008. we had a historic
event when the nation elected
a black president. Barack
Obama. who electrified the
people of Forsyth County
and the nation.
I'm writing about another
situation that is just as impor
tant as electing Barack
Obama as the first black
president that's electing
Jerry Herron as Sheriff of
lorsyth County.
Bear w ith me. The United
States of America received
its independence in 17X9.
The County of Forsyth was
established in 1849 It's now
2010 and Forsyth County
has never elected a minority
to the Office of Sheriff. We
must not allow our voting
participation that was dis
played in 2008 to dissipate.
Forsyth County is facing
a challenge in trying to elect
Jerry Herron Why? Because
we don't understand the
importance of the Office of
the Sheriff. Local politics
play a major role in our lives,
even more so than national
politics. The Sheriff is
responsible for a budget of
more than $40 million of
your tax dollars. The Sheriff
employs over 600 personnel
and is the top law enforce
Fik Photo
Jerry Herron is looking to make local history.
menl officer in the county.
I ran for Sheriff in 2002,
and I appreciate all of your
prayers and support in that
endeavor. Hopefully, you
remember what happened
during my campaign. I won
the Primary and two of the
Democrats that 1 defeated
jumped ship and endorsed
my Republican opponent in
the General Election to keep
it as the "good ol' boys" club
going in the Office of the
Sheriff. The message was
that a minority or female dare
not attempt to pursue that
throne. Regardless of your
political affiliation, gender,
race or sexual orientation,
you deserve to be represented
by someone that has compas
sion for you and for the job;
that person is Jerry Herron.
Forsyth County, you have
a man that you need to get
excited about in Jerry
Herron. For those of you who
know me, you know that i
don't give out undeserving
acknowledgments. Jerry
Herron has 26 years of law
enforcement experience and
recently retired from the
Office of the Sheriff as a
major. During my years of
working with him, I found
him to be fair, consistent and
knowledgeable of the laws,
statutes and ordinances of the
State of North Carolina and
Forsyth County. He is com
mitted to putting community
first
You need a sheriff that
you see more frequently than
every four years, and a sher
iff who will be more efficient
in using the personnel that is
already in place to provide
services to the citizens of
Forsyth County. We don't
need a sheriff who asks for
more money and provides
fewer services. 1 support
Jerry Herron for Sheriff We
need to get excited! We need
to call 10 of our friends and
tell them to go and vote for
Jerry Herron We need to tell
each one of those 10 to call
10 of their friends and so on.
We need to vote early, begin
ning today (Oct. 14); Don't
put it off!
John Polite, a retired
longtime member of the
Forsyth County Sheriff's
Office, ran for Sheriff in
2002.
Cyber-Bullying and Our Children
Al
Sharpton
Guest
Columnist
Adolescence is a chal
lenging time for virtually
everyone. Discovering your
self. building your own iden
tity, and finding your place in
this sometimes confusing
world is no easy feat. And
along the road to self-aware
ness, antagonists better
known as bullies - may pres
ent themselves in various
forms and throw roadblocks
in the way of our progress.
This can range from abusive
words to malicious behavior
and even physical harm But
in this day and age of social
networking and interconnec
tivity, the harassment and
cruelty can linger forever
with no relief in sight for the
young victim As the tragic
suicide of Rutgers
University's Tyler Clementi
clearly exemplifies, the
results can be devastating for
all parties involved and for
our collective consciousness
a* well.
When those of my gener
ation and I were coming of
age. things were simply,
well, much more simple
Although the phenomena of
bullying is nothing new and
many of us were forced to
deal with the matter our
selves as youth, we never
faced the daunting reality of
a 24/7 world of torture,
finding safety with our par
ents. friends or at home, we
knew that_for the most part,
the bullying ended when we
were in the comfort and secu
rity of those that protected us
from negativity. But with the
advent of text messaging,
social media, and other end
less forms of communica
tion. the torment of a bully
can and does linger forever.
More often than not, parents
and teachers are unaware of
the torture children are suf
fering with, and when it is
reported, it sometimes isn't
taken as seriously.
Unfortunately, that may be
exactly what occurred when
young Tyler first requested a
room change at Rutgers
University.
A few months back, i
SAI Li, a non-profit dedicated
to educating and empowering
youth to safely utilize
Information and
Communications Technology
(ICT). released a startling
study on cyber-bullying.
Pulling data from approxi
mately ?J().0<K) students from
schools in all 50 states, the
study found that 44 percent
of children in grades 5-8 and
54 percent of those in 9-12
said people on the Internet
said 'mean or hurtful things
about them or others'. And
out of this alarmingly high
number of cases, only 1 3 per
cent of kids in grades 5-8
reported the incident to a
dementi
trusted adult, and in grades 9
12, it's even worse with only
K perecnt reporting it.
As technology continues
to advance and our children
learn new mechanisms of
communicating, we must
also keep up with the times.
We must remain actively
involved in their lives and
remain cognizant of what
they do online. Parental
supervision and guidance are
unquestionably the greatest
assets we have in protecting
and assisting the develop
ment of our children. But
they also serve as the greatest
shield to negative forces that
attempt to harm and influ
ence them We must learn to
effectively engage with
young folks today across all
mediums, and simultaneous
ly halt malicious behavior
wherever we sec it - even
^hen it is done at the hands
of our own
While Tyler dementi's
family grieves and searches
for answers, the families of
the two students charged
with violating his privacy are
also grappling with the very
real notion that the lives of
their own children are
ruined. There are no winners
in this catastrophe. And as
the debate surrounding crime
and punishment in this case
continues, we cannot forget
to update our laws to keep up
with an ever-changing
world. Antiquated legisla
tion is ill equipped to tackle
some of the dilemmas of
today's society. Without
clear, definitive boundaries,
codes of ethics and punish
ment for violations, we will
be lost in an endless debate
over guilt and innocence.
When there is no question
over privacy issues, harass
ment and cyber-bullying,
people will also be less likely
to engage in it.
In an era of endless possi
bilities and emerging tech
nologies. we cannot forget
that we must learn to master
the number one form of com
munication - talking to our
children So the next time
your son or daughter is at
home on the computer, find
out what's going on; it may
be one of the most important
conversations you'll ever
have.
Rev. Al Sharpion. a well
known activist , is head of the
National Action Network.