Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/31819
Let it Be Trump by PITT DICKEY Remember Donald Trump? Where has he gone? I miss him. Way back before President Obi whacked Osama bin Fishfood, the Donald was everywhere on the news spouting Birther bromides. The media loved Donald. The goofi er the pronouncements he made, the more air time he got. We saw more of The Donald than of Flo the Insurance Gal with the ruby red lips. Then Osama had his night time visit from the Navy Seals. Osama went to join Don Corleone’s favorite hitman Luca Brasi sleeping with the fi shes. The fi ckle American media abruptly forgot about the Donald. It was all Dead Osama, all the time. The end of media focus on the Donald was a terrible loss for America. Clearly the American Presidency and The Donald’s fates are intertwined like hotdogs and nitrates. Donald Trump is the one who can bring us all together. As Rodney King once said, “Can’t we all just get along?” Yes, we can. The Donald is the one to bring about that consummation devoutly to be wished. You may have noticed, there is a bit of division in America between the left and the right. I have a highly Republican friend, whom I shall call Ben, who fl ies on the far right wing side of life. Ben was a Birther before being a Birther was cool. Ben and I have never agreed on anything involving politics. Not once. Not even slightly. I am a big fan of President Obi and suspect he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Ben suspects President Obi is a Socialist Communist Fascist Kenyan Muslim Space Invader from Planet Nine from outer space. Our political discussions usually end up with us each convinced the other has fallen off the narrow bridge of reason into the yawning abyss of hallucinatory thinking. But due to the miracle of Donald Trump, now both Ben and I fi nally agree on something in politics. It is another Festivus Miracle! We both want Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee for President. Our reasoning as to why we want The Donald to be the nominee may vary but our goal is the same. We want The Donald to be the Republican standard bearer. Donald Trump. I was very concerned when President Obi fi nally produced his long form Hawaiian birth certifi cate. Perhaps Trump’s embarrassment on learning that his Birther issue was fake would cause The Donald to fade into the presidential woodwork with Lyndon LaRouche. How wrong could I be? According to Ben, I’m pretty wrong, most of the time. A lesser man, or even a man capable of embarrassment would be chastened for appearing to be a moron when Obi fi nally got around to producing his birth certifi cate and erasing the Birther issue. Our man Donald was not deterred. He puffed up with a second wind and took full credit for proving President Obi was not born on the Planet Kenya. Trump’s next step was to take on the President’s grades in college. Yep, per the Trumpster, President Obi ended up being the President of the Harvard Law Review due to affi rmative action. According to Trump, we have an affi rmative action American President. Despite the loss of the Birther card, Trump has already reframed his Obi assault to manufacture an exciting new issue. Trump is now leading the newly renamed Afterbirthers in their never ending effort to delegitimate President Obi, this time based on his college grades. The Afterbirthers’ work is never done, they just move seamlessly from one bogus issue to the next. Trump is now the High Commissioner of the Afterbirthers in their shiny new assault against President Obi. Trump, he’s dumber than Palin. He’s got more bizarre theories than Newt Gingrich. He’s got more hair than Tim Pawlenty. He’s tanned and rested. He’s ready to go. He’s just the right guy for the Republican nomination. If Trump doesn’t get the Republican nomination, he is poised to run for President as the Placenta Party nominee composed of Afterbirthers, Tea Party true believers and Moon Landing deniers. Bless you Donald Trump for the column material I am about to receive. PITT DICKEY, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? editor@upandcomingweekly.com Movie Nights Build Sense of Community by STEPHANIE CRIDER Who doesn’t want to live in a safe community? In an effort to make the Fayetteville/Cumberland County area a safer place to work and live, Operation Ceasefi re is reaching out to the public to educate and create relationships that will lead to that end. Movie nights are one way they are reaching out. In partnership with Cumberland/Fayetteville Parks and Recreation, Operation Ceasefire presents an Outdoor Movie Series. The Outdoor Movie Series is designed to give youth and their families a fun and safe environment to enjoy their evening. The movies are shown each month at various recreation centers in the community through October. Show time is 7:30 p.m. and admission is free. Originally designed to be an outdoor event (so bring a blanket or chair), the movies will be shown inside in the case of inclement weather. Popcorn and soft drinks are complimentary, and several local businesses have pitched in to provide free give aways, too. Last year, the movie night event touched more than 6,200 people who attended the movies and through the course of the season more than 500 children signed “The Pledge,” in which they promised to do their part in reducing gun violence in schools. Operation Ceasefi re coordinators are hopeful that attendance will grow this year and reach even more citizens in the community. “Operation Ceasefi re is an initiative at the local level that seeks to reduce gun and gang violence. We do that through a comprehensive strategy that includes prevention, intervention, suppression and outreach,” said Operation Ceasefi re spokesperson Charla Suggs. “Our movie nights are part of our outreach. We also incorporate some prevention strategies there as well. The heart of our movie night is to reach out to Fayetteville and Cumberland County 8 UCW MAY 18-24, 2011 residents and give them an opportunity to come out for some safe family fun with the men and women of law enforcement and have a positive interaction with the men and women who serve them every single day.” Suggs also noted that part of building a strong community, fostering a sense of community is a benefi t of Operation Ceasefi re movie nights. “Unfortunately, that is one of the things that Cumberland County also lacks a real sense of community and connectedness to the people that you live and work alongside every day,” said Suggs. “So we are trying to provide an opportunity to do that within a safe context and positive interactions. We want the men and women of law to be the heroes of our young people, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, that is not the case sometimes, because people see them in negative, stressful or emotional situations.” Movies are scheduled for: • Friday, May 27: Festival Park in Fayetteville as a kick-off to Glory Days • Friday, June 17: The Church of The Apostles, 1419 H. Bullard Rd., Hope Mills • Friday, August 12: Kingdom Impact Global Ministries, 2503 Murchison Rd. • Friday, September 9: Hope Mills Parks & Recreation Ball Field #1 as part of the Back to School Celebration • Friday, October 28: JP Riddle Stadium as part of Trunk or Treat & Movie (candy only). Call 484-1989 to fi nd out more. STEPHANIE CRIDER, Associate Editor. COMMENTS? editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM