The AC Phoenix: More than a Newspaper, a Community Institution -- Issue No. 2016, October 2014

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Page 10 October 2014 The AC Phoenix Airline Pilots May Get Better Security Than President Obama By Hazel Trice Edney He described it as a “dagger”. That was the word used by a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) supervisor at Reagan National Airport Dec. 6 to describe a six-inch metal letter opener with a razor sharp tip at the end of a three-inch blade. “This could be used as a dagger,” Supervisor Joshua Hunt told this reporter after he was summoned by TSA Officer Venus Washington. Washington had discovered the knife-like instrument inside a large leather purse as it moved through the x-ray machine at the U. S. Airways terminal. The agents were doing their jobs to protect airline pilots, other employees and passengers. They gave this reporter a choice to either trash it, check it, or FedEx it to herself. She chose the latter. The TSA officers were unaware that the U. S. Secret Service had apparently given the same letter opener the green light to be distributed by the thousands in a ballroom where President Barack Obama alongside First Lady Michele Obama shook hundreds of hands, separated from the crowd only by a rope. That night was Sept. 21 at the 43rd Annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Phoenix Awards Dinner, where the President was keynote speaker. The letter openers, which were incased in black cardboard boxes alongside matching ink pens and placed in each chair, were gifts to the more than 3,000 dinner guests. The security was so tight for people going into the gala that the Secret Service even confiscated umbrellas. Yet, as the President and First Lady strode from the stage to the floor and worked the rope line after the speech, hundreds of people leaving the event with the ‘dagger’-like instruments in their possession pressed to shake their hands and take photos. The couple interacted with individuals in the crowd for at least six minutes. President Obama has spoken at nearly every CBCF Phoenix Awards Dinner since he was elected. The friendly, nonthreatening audience receives him warmly at the event which showcases the 43-member Congressional Black Caucus and its honorees. But, hate experts and those familiar with assassination plots indicate no event should be taken for granted. That’s because ambush - a common strategy for deadly attacks on elected officials – remains a constant threat. spokesman for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), among the nation’s leading trackers of hate crimes, simply pointed to all the failed plans to assassinate Obama. They included an Oct. 2008 plot foiled by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which arrested two racist skinheads in Tennessee, who had taken several steps toward a plotted killing spree of 88 African-Americans, culminating with Obama, who was then only the Democratic nominee for president. SPLC reports the number of hate groups leaped to an all-time high of 1,007 in 2012, coinciding with the presence of a Black President in the White House. That - in part - is why President Obama has been protected by a larger Secret Service security force than any other President. The force has done its job successfully, which is why the loose letter openers seemed rather odd. Secret Service spokesman Edwin M. Donovan said risks can only be minimized, not totally omitted. “We’re unable to remove all risks when our protectees go somewhere - any of our protectees - the President, the Vice President or anybody else we protect,” Donovan explained in an interview with the Trice Edney News Wire, Sept. 23, the Monday following the dinner. Donovan, who was not at the dinner that night but said he has worked presidential security in the past, sought to detail why the letter openers were allowed to be so close to the President and Mrs. Obama. “I would say presumably these were purchased well in advance of the dinner. So, when our advance agents get there setting up security, they have to make a decision based on what the committee tells us. The host committee would say, ‘Hey we’re giving these out as gifts.’ So, you look and you say ‘Oh my goodness, you’re going to give these out to everybody that’s attending?’” he said. “The decision had to be made, ‘Are we going to ask them not to give them out until after the President leaves or are we going to ask them to give them out as people depart? Or are we going to just let them give them out the way they want to?’ So the decision was made to give it out the way you want to.” CBCF spokeswoman Shrita D. Sterlin- Hernandez declined comment on the CBCF’s interactions with the Secret Service on the matter of the letter openers. She wrote in an email, “I am not comfortable making comments on behalf of the Secret Service’s security protocols. Please direct all of your questions about the security of the President to the Secret Service.” Donovan said as long as the President and First Lady were accompanied by attentive Secret Service agents as they shook hands with the crowd, any danger was minimized. unusual; to look for anybody that’s acting in a way that’s not appropriate or certainly if someone has taken this out of the box and is brandishing it,” he said. He compared the letter opener to dinner ware. Letter opener and pen set given at highsecurity CBCF dinner. “They go into a room to visit people, we don’t remove the furniture although someone could pick up a chair presumably and try to strike them,” he said. “At that table there were knives and forks on the table, there were glasses on the table. Someone could certainly break a glass and cause a problem for us as well.” The presence of the razor tipped letter opener so close to the President was initially brought to this reporter’s attention by a photographer who observed what appeared to be extremely high security surrounding the event except when it came to the letter openers. The photographer asked to remain anonymous. But that observation gave rise to this Trice Edney News Wire investigation into how many high security areas that letter opener could enter undetected. Incased in the same black gift box inside a purse, the letter opener was not flagged as it went through the x-ray machine and bag search at the Secret Service headquarters where the interview with Agent Donovan took place Sept. 23. On Nov. 6, it went undetected through an x-ray machine and bag search at the U. S. Capitol. Yet, afterwards, when asked whether a letter opener would be allowed inside the Capitol building, U. S. Capitol Police spokesman Shennell Antrobus responded in a Nov. 7 e-mail, “Visitors are strictly prohibited from carrying any pointed object, such as letter openers, knitting needles, etc., into the Capitol and Capitol Visitor Center, at all times.” Three-inch tip of letter opener inside gift box given to thousands at high security CBCF dinner. TSA refused to allow it on an airplane. Then, on Nov. 20, the letter opener was not flagged as it went through a Secret Service x-ray machine and bag search at the White House. That day, it was taken into an East Room ceremony where President Obama bestowed 16 Presidential Medals of Freedom. security gate, where Officer Washington took no chances. “I saw something in here that looked like a letter opener, but it looked rather sharp,” she said, removing the purse from the x-ray belt and beginning to search. Despite the sharpness of the letter opener, it apparently did not violate airport security. The list of “Prohibited Items” on TSA.gov doesn’t even mention letter openers. Washington gave a onesentence explanation as to why it was not allowed on the plane. “It’s to our discretion, Ma’am,” she said. As the Secret Service successfully handles hundreds of events a year during which the President and/or First Lady conduct rope line greetings, the loose letter openers indicate all loopholes are not closed. “A lot of what happens in many instances is determined by what the President wants to do,” said U. S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, ranking Democrat and former chair of the Homeland Security Committee. For example, he noted that President Clinton would unexpectedly go to a McDonald’s or greet people who have gone through no security. “So, I think those are some of the risks associated with it,” Thompson said. Stressing how Secret Service agents “put their lives on the line every day” to protect the president, Thompson concluded, “I’m confident that the Secret Service does a good job. I know that when I chaired the Committee, the President had more threats on his life than any other President before him. So we were able to, even before he became President, we got him a security detail there early; and obviously they’ve done a good job. But, even with that, there are still potential vulnerabilites that a president or any other person with a detail just has to face.” When asked for comment, Mark Potok, a “That’s their job to look for anything It was finally flagged Dec. 6 at the airport
Page 11 October 2014 The AC Phoenix Building Partnerships Between Police Officers and the Communities They Serve By Ben Jealous [continued from page 7] “Now, there is a chance for police and the community to hear each other,” she said. “The focus needs to be on how people are treated. If you can train officers how to treat ALL people with dignity and respect - that is a victory.” Brook’s co-director Guillermo Lopez explained that community policing cannot be accomplished with the wave of a wand, “You don’t go in trying to change a whole department; you go in trying to change a few people, who eventually come to change the whole department. We can start by focusing attention and financial resources on organizations like NCBI, so they can continue spreading the word that emphasize the ‘serve’ aspect of “Protect and Serve”. “The establishment of a sustained value and practice for coalition building skills between Community and Law Enforcement is a pathway to conflict resolution and will create a climate which fosters violence prevention”. Joyce Shabazz, Consulting Associate Senior Trainer / Director Of Affinity Caucus Programs As Brooks told me, “Police officers meet with the community, hear tough things, say tough things and confront their prejudices together - this is how we will move forward.” Voters Running to Lewis in the Closing Days of the Campaign for Chief Justice [continued from page 1] Domestic Violence Therapeutic Court, and a Sex Offender Accountability Court. These courts reduce the rate of recidivism, restore families, and save tax payers money. According to the National Association of Drug Treatment Court Professionals, for every $1 spent in treatment, the judicial system saves $9 in incarceration cost. Given her impeccable record, voters across the state are surprised to learn that her campaign has been met with such hostility by those in power. Yet, she has managed to maximize limited resources to run neck and neck with her incredibly well-funded opponent. “Voters don’t want to elect a judge who is bought and paid for,” said Lewis. “Politics have a place in our society, but the bench is no place for those who base their qualifications on connections to the political Establishment. People-centeredness, fidelity to the rule of law, and leadership experience will provide the people of North Carolina with the Supreme Court they deserve. They don’t need a Chief Justice who has a laundry list of political favors to repay from the moment he is sworn in.” Still, the road has not been easy for the candidate whose innovative solutions as Senior Resident Superior Court Judge set a roadmap for the state. What was already an uphill battle became all the more challenging when the Republican Party Establishment voted to endorse Mark Martin. It was a decision that may have backfired. “The people I run across every day see that endorsement for what it was- insider politicians protecting one of their own,” said Lewis. “With so many citizens tired of politics as usual, there has been a strong backlash against the Party and the Martin campaign for their underhanded, exclusionary tactics.” Despite the endorsement of the Party, Martin has yet to be able to establish a strong lead in the polls. In fact, the vast majority of voters in North Carolina remain undecided about this crucial race, with Martin’s money advantage unable to deliver a major advantage. Observers point to serious questions about Martin’s motivations and trustworthiness. “When the same candidate gets endorsed by the Republican Party and the AFL-CIO, it is hard to know where that individual stands,” said Lewis. “Moreover, his reliance on insider connections and overtly political campaign has lost him votes across the state.” Martin’s fitness for the Supreme Court has also been called into question. The underhandedness used to get those endorsements and his treatment of his opponent have made many question whether his temperament is suited to be an impartial judge. In fact, he told Judge Ola Lewis during one debate that she should have “stayed in her place”- a revealing choice of words that should be alarming to women and minorities. Lewis, on the other hand, has stood out to voters for her sincerity and solutions to problems plaguing a Supreme Court that has consistently ranked among the worst in the nation. Additionally, her performance at debates has allowed her to showcase a command of the issues that surpasses her opponent. This momentum has been capitalized with endorsements coming from Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter, the Raleigh Wake Citizens, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Black Political Action Committee, and numerous other leaders and organizations that represent grassroots voters- not big moneyed special interests or political insiders. With the trends of the race, many are predicting a similar result to what was seen in Virginia just a few months ago when Eric Cantor was taken down by Dave Brat. “Our campaign is not the most well-funded, but Mark Martin is the insider’s insider and the people of North Carolina are ready for someone who will stand up for them,” said Lewis. “We are ready to deliver a victory that will send shockwaves through the political Establishment in Raleigh.” Regardless of the ultimate outcome on November 4th, Judge Ola Lewis already appears to be the story of this election cycle- particularly as the U.S. Senate race looks less and less competitive, in part due to the alienation many voters felt after Party insiders endorsed Martin. Challenging the favorite son of the political bosses, Lewis has quickly become the champion for people who want a better Supreme Court, and this race is poised to be one of the most watched judicial races in the country on election night. Moreover, this campaign holds particular significance in the state of North Carolina. For the first time, we have two African Americans running for the Supreme Court, and if communities come together and vote that history can be made. Additionally, in the case of Judge Ola Lewis, we can avoid history repeating itself as Judge Elreta Alexander and Judge Henry Frye were previous African Americans who were defeated by opponents who, in Alexander’s case specifically, were less qualified. Given the trajectory of this race, I am confident in Judge Ola’s ability to make history, but we need our readers to turn out. We have a distinct opportunity to have a true champion of the people as Chief Justice, and, if we turn out to vote, she will most certainly do us proud! An Associate Consultant’s Newspaper Established in 1983 Rodney J. Sumler, Publisher Jerome Johnson, Managing Editor Dwight A. Jones, Editor Ann F. Sumler, Finance Director Advertising Constants Chenita Johnson, Gerald Green A Creative Mind, Graphic Design Ideas expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or staff. (336) 635 4096 Fax (336) 635 4567 e-mail: acphoenix@bellsouth.net Nigeria to Send 200 Students to HBCUs in 2015 By JL Carter Sr Officials from Nigeria today announced a commitment to send 200 students from the African nation to historically Black colleges and universities beginning in 2015. The announcement was made by the Hon. Kingsley Kuku Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, during the annual White House Initiative on HBCUs conference. According to officials, 100 students will travel to the United States each semester during the academic year, with a goal of spurring economic development in Nigeria with the training they will receive at HBCUs. “Hon. Kingsley Kuku has a Presidential directive to synergize with the White House initiative for HBCUs : to explore and tap it’s rich potentials that abound without compromising standards in our race to build a variable and competent workforce in the Niger Delta, as part of a deliberate program to ameliorate the years of neglect in the region,” said Eugene Abels, Head Education at Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta. Alabama A&M University and Alabama State University have served as pilot institutions for the program, having enrolled students from the Niger Delta over the last two years through special programs. The announcement comes on the heels of the Young African Leaders Initiative, which recently concluded at several Black colleges including Howard University, Morgan State University and Clark Atlanta University.
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The AC Phoenix: More than a Newspaper, a Community Institution -- Issue No. 2016, October 2014

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