Wednesday, May 30, 2012

"Memorial Day: What Your Teachers Never Told You!"

It's time to Break It Down!

OK, so Memorial Day was earlier this week.  You may be familiar with my holiday week philosophy, which is make it easy on the readers, who are always otherwise engaged, no matter the holiday.  Of course, in the process, I am also giving myself a break.  That makes for a natural win-win scenario.

With that overarching thought in mind, I will endeavor to apply three elementary rules of communication:

1.      Utilize the KISS Principle, AKA, Keep It Short & Simple (also Keep It Simple Stupid)

2.      Convey new or “not widely circulated” information

3.      Always remember to emphasize points 1 and 2 above 

Memorial Day is a federal holiday to honor America’s fallen soldiers.  It originated after the Civil War.  Falling between Easter and Independence Day, it is often equated with a late spring break, or a pre-summer respite.  The weekend typically includes a cornucopia of sports.  For example this week included the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600, the start of the NBA Conference Finals, College Men’s Baseball playoffs, and College Women’s Softball competition.

With the rapidly heating-up political season thrown in the mix, the holiday is sometimes almost lost in the shuffle.  But wait; Memorial Day has a special cultural significance.  In fact, it is because of that nexus we should pay special homage to this late spring holiday.

The first well-know observance of a Memorial Day type was held May 1, 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina.  Over 250 Union solders that had been prisoners of war, dies in Charleston, and were quickly buried in make-shift graves.  A group blacks, mostly freedmen, organized the observance and led clean-up and landscaping of the burial site.

Most of the nearly 10,000 people who attended were freedman and their families.  Of that number, 3.000 were children, newly enrolled in freedman’s schools.  Mutual aid societies, black ministers, and white Northern missionaries were also in attendance.

David W. Blight, Professor of American History at Yale University, and Director of the school's Gilder-Lehrman Centerfor the Study of Slavery, Resistance, & Abolition, described the day this way:

"This was the first Memorial Day. African Americans invented Memorial Day in Charleston, South Carolina. What you have there is black Americans recently freed from slavery announcing to the world with their flowers, their feet, and their songs what the War had been about. What they basically were creating was the Independence Day of a Second American Revolution.”

Professor Blight conceded there is no evidence that the Charleston event led directly to the establishment of Memorial Day across the country.  But the record is clear they formed the earliest truly large scale event, complete with media coverage.  Their effort was the prototype, if not the catalyst.

Having said that, I believe I honored the rules established above for this post:

  1. Told this story in a direct and uncomplicated fashion
  2. Presented information I am confident most readers did not know
  3. Recognized points 1 and 2, were accomplished and closed the post
Enjoy your bonus time, and be sure to reflect on “Memorial Day: What Your Teachers Never Told You!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:












Wednesday, May 23, 2012

"Tough Talk in the Big Easy: A Real Civil Rights Activist?"

It's time to Break It Down!

Five summers ago (August 29, 2007), media worldwide, and I, wrote about an event that raised the level of inspection of racial dysfunction in the State of Louisiana.  My post, Jena 6 Does Not Add Up,” (http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html) was set deep in the heart of Louisiana.  Located in La Salle Parish, Jena is Northwest of Baton Rouge.

It’s not quite the “Summer of ’12” yet, but things are already heating up.  It’s time to re-visit the Bayou State; this time stopping off in Jefferson Parish, AKA, Nawlins.

As a PK (Preacher’s Kid), I spent a lot of time in church while growing up.  Occasionally (I am sure an even rarer occurrence these days), a minister sensing the presence and working of the Spirit would discern that through the perfect dispensation of the Trinity (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit), his work for the day had been done in such completeness, there was neither a need for, nor a benefit to be derived from an actual sermon; not even from the Shepherd of the Flock.  Sometimes, a power that is at once, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, designs and executes just such a sublimely spiritual perfect storm.

In his own alternative universe kind of way, Mark Traina has told his own story via means I would prefer not to alter, in an effort not to detract from it, and certainly not to embellishment it.

So, are you actively navigating the Twitterverse?

It is true you do not have to lift-off into cyberspace orbit to get apprised of the issues of the day.  However, if Twitter can be insinuated as an indirect catalyst for the Arab Spring, its significance has clearly risen to the level of “accepted broadly.”

In fact, for the first time in the roughly 57 months that I’ve posting this blog, I am going to put forth a story that gained its impetus and currency from Twitter.  Before you ask, or wonder, no I don’t Follow (on Twitter) the principal character in this saga, but his Twitter feeds are the portal of entry for gaining a working perspective on the this tough talking Cajun’s acerbic claims.

Allow me to take a moment to define the phenomenon that is Twitter, just in case someone has missed that part of the social networking revolution.  In short, Twitter is:

An online social networking service and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as "tweets.” It was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July. The service rapidly gained worldwide popularity, with over 140 million active users as of 2012[5], generating over 340 millions tweets daily[5] and handling over 1.6 billion search queries per day.[7][8] It has been described as "the SMS of the Internet."[9] Unregistered users can read the tweets, while registered users can post tweets through the website interface, SMS, or a range of apps for mobile devices.[10]

Twitter Inc. is based in San Francisco, with additional servers and offices in New York City. The Twitter website is one of the top ten most visited on the Internet.[4]

How, you may ask, has Mr. Traina so creatively, divisively, and hatefully, used his Twitter account?

First, it is essential to know this story has a number of moving parts, including:

  • Repeated allegations resulting in a multi-charge complaint filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) against the Jefferson Parish School System because it disproportionately funnels blacks and students with disabilities into alternative schools, where they languish for months or even years before returning to regular schools
  • A review initiated by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights
  • School Superintendent James Meza launching an internal investigation into the charges in the SPLC’s complaint
Into that steamy cauldron of questionable practices, and the pattern of behavior that begat it, introduce the combustible bile and vitriol spewed by Mr. Traina in Tweetgate, Nawlins-style.  Oh yes, can’t omit, the “Scratch my d..n head” fact that the man whom, in his Twitter description, says he “likes politics, the economy, reading, and expressing [his] opinion,” is a school psychologist for the Jefferson Parish School District…at least he was when he posted numerous racially incendiary comments…on Twitter.  According to the local Fox affiliate, WVUE FOX8, Mr. Traina resigned yesterday.  Quite naturally, Fox8 tweeted the news.

Yes, if anything about this situation is apparent, it is that Mr. Traina likes expressing his opinion.  The Times-Picayune, New Orleans’ flagship daily paper reported in Monday’s edition that Mr. Traina, was not only employed in the alternative schools where the affected students were receiving inferior education, but as a psychologist, he was actively involved in determining the students who were transferred into such schools.

The combination of Traina’s pivotal responsibilities and irrepressibly racialized opinions makes for fractious amalgam.  When I consider the impending, perhaps totally unavoidable consequences of his actions, metaphors like “fox in the hen house,” and/or “wolf in sheep’s clothing” come to mind.

But enough of the preamble; I submitted Mr. Traina had in effect woven his own personal tapestry in such a way that nothing need to be added for you to fully and completely appreciate (or not) his stance and its efficacy, or lack thereof.  Therefore, without further ado, consider the unabridged thoughts, or rather tweets, of Mr. Mark Traina:

  • Young Black Thugs who don’t follow the law need to be put down not incarcerated. Put down like the Dogs they are!“ and ”We need to declare a war on Thugism in America. Bring them under control. Use the Hammer and Trigger Method!”
  • Serpas should be warning people to STAY THE HELL OUT OF NEW ORLEANS!  These Black Dudes will Kill You!”
  • In an April Tweet, he wrote that 17-year-old Trayvon Martin's killer George Zimmerman was "the real victim and held his ground."
  • (The fact that Traina, who works with troubled students in the district, posted such racially provocative comments provides further evidence of this discrimination, SPLC lawyer Eden Heilman tells the Times-Picayune.) Traina told the paper in his defense that his comments are personal and "don't represent the Jefferson Parish school system."
  • “This is just another way to harass the Jefferson Parish Public School System. One only needs to read the Times Picayune to see who the real trouble makers are. Sadly, it is disproportionately young black males. Everyone knows that our jails throughout the United States are disproportionately filled with black people. Why would the rate be any different in an educational environment?”
  • “Even one of the best known Civil Rights Activists in America recently indicated (I won't mention any names) that it is MUCH safer to walk through a predominately white neighborhood after dark than in black neighborhood"
  • “We are faced with a young Black Army of Thugs who have declared War on the American Way of Life-Holding America Hostage as we speak!”
  • “Young Black Thugs have created an atmosphere of Fear throughout America. The Real Terrorist live among us! Not over seas! Right here and now”
  • “Protesters march in Florida town where Trayvon Martin was shot: Black people need to STOP shooting one another!” Mark A. Traina
  • “Can President Obama win re-election if almost two-thirds of whites are opposed to him?”
  • “I grew up in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana – I am a Wallace Man at Heart!”
  • “If White people were going around killing people the Blacks would be crying “Fowl.”  (I added the parentheses; wasn’t sure whether he was calling black folks chicken, or just saluting our affinity for yard bird).
  • “ANOTHER YOUNG BLACK MALE THUG-NEEDS TO DIE-I PRAY THAT THE VICTIMS FRIENDS GET TO HIM 1ST. SO THE POLICE WON'T HAVE TO KILL HIM,"
  • “Mark A. Traina is an American Civil Rights Activist who unlike Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton represents all Americans."
  • “Everything I said is fact-based, backed up by data. I don't have a prejudiced bone in my body. I'm not a racist. I'm a realist."
  • “ON A PERSONAL NOTE: I live in Slidell land I MUST admit it is one of the safest places that I have ever lived in the State of Louisiana.”
  • All I can say is, “Thank God for Lake Pontchartrain
The good news is, that’s all I have for you; the even better news is, there’s no collection.  Amen!

While I am tempted to follow the hanging thread that Mr. Traina left regarding the unknown civil rights leader, since he didn’t actually call out the venerable Cos, I’m gonna let that slide.  But just recall/know, I have previously provided my thoughts on that question in a post entitled, The Blame Game (October 24, 2007/ http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2007/10/blame-game.html).  My current position; same thoughts, different day!

In the final analysis, as it relates to this current Tempest in aTeapot, I leave you to evaluate Mr. Traina’s bodacious claims.  “ToughTalk in the Big Easy: A Real Civil Rights Activist?”  You decide whether his vile rhetorical explosion rises to the level of civil rights activism or merely a round of malevolent social networking.

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter

















Wednesday, May 16, 2012

POTUS: The First "Gay/Woman" President...Problematic?

It's time to Break It Down!

For those of you who regularly skip the intel presented, erstwhile, as enlightenment by major news outlets, allow me to quickly explain today’s title so that you will know with confidence that it is not just one of my many machinations.  Recent headlines from two prominent news organizations have, pejoratively I think, labeled President Obama both the The First Gay President” (Newsweek, dated May 21, 2012), and “BarackObama, The First Female President” (WashingtonPost, dated May 14, 2012).  Certainly I intend no disrespect to women or to the gay community by suggesting these references are negative.  Alternately, the media often gins up controversy, specifically in an effort to enhance sales, and ultimately to increase revenue…as a result of what you might call eye-catching headlines and salacious teasers.

Of course, a number of my friends, who consider themselves fierce defenders of capitalism and freemarkets, constantly remind me that for private sector entities, the bottom line is the bottom line.

These headlines and others similar to them followed last Wednesday’s announcement by President Obama in an interview with ABC News analyst Robin Roberts that he supports the right for same-sex couples to marry.  While many speculated that unscripted, and presumably unexpected comments by Vice President Joe Biden (the preceding Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press) and by EducationSecretary Arne Duncan (the preceding Monday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe), the President had noted some time ago that his thoughts on the subject were evolving.

In fact there had been significant speculation that President Obama would likely clarify his support prior to the November Election, largely because a movement was looming for supporters of the issue to try and make the matter a plank of the Democratic Party at its upcoming National Convention in Charlotte.  It would have be a clear embarrassment for the issue to be foisted upon a reticent President Obama during the moment designed to symbolize the Party’s unified support of its candidate.  It may have been even more damaging to the prospect of that unity had the President rejected the passionate concerns of a key constituency.  Can you say “between a rock and a hard place?”

All things considered, while there was considerable heat and light in the immediate aftermath of the Presidentcoming out,” long term, it may be better to have settled the matter sooner rather than later.  This way, if it really does prove to be a substantive campaign issue, the President, his supporters, handlers, bundlers, Super Pacs, and other FOP's (Friends of POTUS), have both the time and the opportunity to design and execute a strategic and robust response.

Perhaps it should be noted that this may be more of an issue among segments of the President’s supporters, than among his adversaries.  The Republicans have actually been as near silent as possible on the question.  MittRomney, while delineating his position in favor of the traditional one man/one woman view of marriage has pretty much given the issue as much distance as Superman would Kryptonite.  No doubt a tacit concession that no matter how enthusiastically he mouths his current position, he has also evolved on the question.  Given his efforts to shed the flip-flop label (and no, it's not the shoes, Money!...and if you didn't get that, perhaps you need to work on your cultural literacy quoitient...see Spike Lee), he no doubt has little if any interest in throwing down the gauntlet on this particular issue.  Of course Camp Romney also had to weigh the recent revelation that he bullied a gay student in highschool.  The resulting media dust-up forced Romney to issue an apolgy last Thursday.

So, while many elements in the always unwieldy Democratic Coalition have expressed concern; even dismay with the President’s stance, there is widespread hope, if not optimism amid his Camp that he can regain his support and burnish his Mojo before November 6th.  Indeed, chances are, the outcome of the Election will turn on the state of the economy, not DADT (Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell), DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act), or any other Alphabet Soup aspect of this debate.

That is my view, which is in stark contrast to that of Mr. Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage.  Mr. Brown, in a Special (editorial) to CNN yesterday argued that North Carolina is integral to President Obama’s re-election hopes, and that the resounding adoption of Amendment One by North Carolina voters on May 8th effectively ended the President’s chances at retaining the White House.

In all fairness, that victory, or defeat, depending on ones perspective could hardly have been more complete.  The Constitutional Amendment, which declared marriage is the union of one man and one woman in the State of North Carolina, garnered 61% of the votes, including majorities among Democrats, Independents, Republicans, and African Americans.

As with Biden’s & Duncan’s comments, as far as POTUS’ chances go, the best thing about the Amendment One ballot initiative may be that it was on the ballot in May; not November.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Interestingly, in today’s political environment, opposition research and fact checking are normative processes.  As a result Salon.com was quick to call Newsweek to task while offering a bit of salient, if not well-known, insight.  Ergo, we have already had a gay President.  Betcha didn’t know that!

No surprise there (that you didn’t know).  It has been buried deeper than African American History in most of our nation’s classrooms.  OK, to be fair, since African American History is usually ignored in primary & secondary education classrooms, maybe the appropriate comparison is that it has been buried just as deeply.  Whatever…you get the point!

In its rejoinder, Salon.com challenged Newsweek's basic premise,” arguing that “Obama shouldn't be considered the nation's first "gay president" because our 15th president, James Buchanan, was gay.”

The Salon piece goes on to cite Author John Howard’s book, Men LikeThat,” in which Howard references correspondence from President Buchanan (dated May 13, 1844) to Eleanor Roosevelt, in which he not only expressed his sadness over the loss of his great love (who happened to be a man), but also mentioned his efforts to woo other men (in response to his loss).

In other words, for all those folks who like their Presidents male, white, and without saying so, straight, President Obama’s newly revealed position may be controversial, but to quote your Bible and mine, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.  (Ecclesiastes1: 9 The New Revised Standard Version).  The illusion was nice while it lasted, but it’s over now; let’s move on.

On Monday, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank had an editorial in that paper which reeked of condescension toward President Obama.  The editorial was entitled (And yes, I know editorial writers don’t pen the headlines) “Barack Obama, the first female president.”

At one point Milbank accused the President of “brazenly flaunting his feminine mystique.”  I thought I was reading a Fox News piece for a moment, instead of a column from the Washington Post.  Milbank incorporated the President’s appearance on The View, and delivering the Commencement Address at Barnard College in a summary of affronts, in which he suggested the President “pandered” to women.

Throughout the course of the piece, Mr. Milbank seemed somewhat agitated that the recently named “First Gay President, which as previously noted, is a misnomer, was paying too much attention to women.  Who knows, perhaps Mr. Milbank was unable to attend the recent White House Correspondent’sDinner.  Maybe POTUS should make sure he gets a ticket next year…along with an offer he can’t refuse!

In response to the great question of the day, POTUS: TheFirst “Gay/Woman” President…Problematic?  The answer; “Of course it is!”  But, in relative terms, I have a feeling that is not nearly as much of a problem as:

·         Solving our nation’s economic challenges

·         Eliminating the budget deficit for more than one month (April 2012 marks the first monthly budget surplus in the United States since September, 2008)

·         Resolving the issue of black-on-black crime

·         Implementing immigration reform

·         Re-writing the tax code

·         Whatever happened to the War on Drugs, anyway

·       And, of course, the current “Mother of all Problems,” reducing, in a significant way, the national unemployment rate

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:























Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Return of the Birthers: North Carolina Raise Up!

It's time to Break It Down!

As a native North Carolinian who has lived here more than half a century, there are lots of things about the Old North State that make me proud to be a Tar Heel.  The state’s position as an economic engine of the NewSouth, the vibrancy of my adopted home town (Charlotte), the Flagship University, the oldest in-state Historically Black Public University (The University of North Carolina and Fayetteville State University, respectively; both, my alma maters), four distinguishable seasons, professional sports (even though the Bobcats & Panthers experience more than their share of struggles), and a healthy dose of Southern hospitality.  And I could go on.  But that’s enough to make the point.

Alternately, there are days when I am reminded that North Carolina, my home state; despite all its advances, is still irrevocably tied to its Old South ways.  Yesterday was “one of those days!”  Well, not so much yesterday, but for several days leading up to yesterday.

Most of us are aware that there was a national movement that gained popularity based on the assertion that President Obama was not born in Hawaii, and is not an American.  In fact some argue he is a foreign-born Muslim Socialist, but that’s a whole different story.  Though it took the first two years of his Presidency to accomplish it, by most reasonable accounts, Mr. Obama finally put the matter to rest by presenting his official long form birth certificate for inspection by the media and whatever other document experts may have been required to ascertain the certificate’s authenticity.

People who identify with the Republican marque, from John McCain to John Boehner, have long conceded the issue was a side show, detracting from legitimate campaign issues.  Even DonaldTrump, who made the issue one of the central planks of his short-lived Presidential campaign, got an unceremonious comeuppance due to his unsubstantiated position.

So a funny thing happened on the way to yesterday’s election.  Four Republican candidates for United States House districts in North Carolina inexplicably made Birtherism a key talking point in their quest to win election.  A main source for the claims made by all four candidates appears to be the opinion of Maricopa County (Arizona) Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  Sheriff Arpaio has gained a great deal of notoriety for his controversial stance in dealing with illegal immigrants.

The NC GOP Birther Final Four includes:

  1. George Hutchins4th Congressional District of NC
  2. Richard Hudson – 8th Congressional District of NC
  3. Dr. John Whitley – 8th Congressional District of NC
  4. Jim Pendergraph – 9th Congressional District of NC
Each of the four has stepped out and made public pronouncements about his belief that the birth certificate is not the genuine article.  Looked at in the absence of inside information, it appears that there is a healthy dose of Southern Strategy involved.  By inserting the Obama card, these “gentlemen” have effectively fed red meat to the political carnivores of the NC GOP.  The four have made a variety of claims, including:

·         Hutchins – Maintains that he is convinced President Obama’s birth certificate is a forgery.  He adds that if elected, he will lead an investigation into the issue of the birth certificate, regardless of whether President Obama is re-elected.

·         Hudson (considered a leading candidate in the race to unseat Democratic U.S. Representative Larry Kissell) – Told a Tea Party group in Rowan County that “There’s no question President Obama is hiding something on his citizenship.”

·         Dr. Whitley – Declared the President’s birth certificate is a “poorly reproduced forgery.”  He added there was a tremendous amount of smoke here, and in fact, it’s called a smoke screen.

·         Pendergraph – stated “I have reason to be suspicious, but I don’t know.  I haven’t seen the facts.  I think there’s a lot of smoke and generally when there’s smoke there’s got to be fire somewhere.”

Given the information that most of the mainstream GOP leadership accepts as legit, all of the above comments strike an odd cord.  But apparently none stuck a note sourer than that of Mecklenburg County Commissioner, and former Sheriff, Pendergraph.  The Charlotte Observer’s editorial Board had this to say as it explained its rescission of Pendergraph’s endorsement:

  • “By buddying up to one of America’s more hateful egomaniacs and then joining with fringe ‘birthers’ to question President Obama’s citizenship, Pendergraph has contradicted much of what he told the Observer’s editorial board in his endorsement interview last month. As a result, we have lost faith in him, and urge voters to consider Edwin Peacock or Ric Killian in the 9th Congressional District race.”
Of the four candidates, Mr. Hudson has shown an indication he may be walking back his earlier comments.  On Friday, he would not say whether he believed the President was born in the United States.  Instead, he said if elected, he would hope to eliminate such questions in the future by implementing rules and procedures to verify the President was born in the United States.

Ferrell Guillory, a UNC Chapel Hill based political scientist, said “Some Republican critics of Obama aren’t concerned with facts.  Candidates feel raising the birther issue will help them connect with deeply conservative Republicans who dislike Obama.”

He went on to say, “Race may be a factor.”

As for how much Old School Southern Strategy helped in propelling candidates to the ultimate prize, it was at best a mixed bag.  Mr. Hutchins and Dr. Whitley were eliminated in their bids while Mr. Hudson and Commissioner Pendergraph will likely face runoff elections before either or both can secure the GOP nomination.  Will the lack of overwhelmingly positive results lead to abandoning the inanity of Birtherism?  Probably not; the Southern Strategy is sure to rise again…and it may not be in the South.  For now, it is time to reflect on “TheReturn of the Birthers: North Carolina Raise Up!” I’m done; holla back!"

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/05/obama-birth-certificate-north-carolina-joe-arpaio/1

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/politics/2012-election/video-gop-candidate-dr-john-whitley-stiill-denies-pres-obamas-birth

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/05/07/147952/nc-gop-candidates-continue-to.html

http://obamareleaseyourrecords.blogspot.com/2012/05/3-more-north-carolina-gop-candidates.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/05/north-carolina-birthers_n_1484714.html

http://citizenwells.wordpress.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_citizenship_conspiracy_theories

http://www.libertarianrepublican.net/2012/04/republican-for-congress-in-nc-cd-8.html

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/04/19/467914/richard-hudson-birther/?mobile=nc

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2880233/posts

http://www.wasobamaborninkenya.com/InspectorSmith/showthread.php/1138-Pendergraph-suspicious-of-Obama-s-birthplace-Charlotte-Observer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/08/ncs-latest-republican-birther-candidate-says-arpaio-is-a-great-american/