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.
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STAFF bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Janice Burton Joy Crowe MANAGING EDITOR Caroline Goins stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com hal@upandcomingweekly.com Linda McAlister Brown ltmcmd01@aol.com OFFICE MANAGER Laurel Handforth officemanager@ upandcomingweekly.com Mary Catherine White ACCOUNTING accounting@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Mar tin, Pitt Dick ey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Jhana Lewis, Erinn Crider, Karen Poppele, Heath- er Griffi ths, Beth Solzsmon-Carpenter, Shannon Angry –––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan Street P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and infor- mation on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. 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MARKETING/SALES Hal Nunn ASSOCIATE EDITOR Stephanie Crider PUBLISHER Bill Bowman INSIDE PUBLISHER'S PEN by BILL BOWMAN Earlier this month, Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne signed a proclamation. That is not uncommon, as the city sends out proclamations on a routine basis to "celebrate someone's accomplishments." But in this instance, the mayor and the city were duped into recognizing Moorish-American Week, a proclamation sought at the request of a "just-this-side-of-the- law" group of African Americans who have embraced an anti- government philosophy rooted in a nearly century-old religion called Moorish Science Temple of America. At the heart of the movement is anarchy and rebellion against the government. Mayor Tony Chavonne needs to be commended for stepping up and taking responsibility for the embarrassing proclamation passed by the Fayetteville City Council that recognized Moorish Americans as a legitimate race and nation and, for his swift action in explaining and retracting the proclamation. Good moves, all the way around. This radical and dubious group of anti- Americans has a history, reputation and modus operandi of perpetuating unethical and questionable activities by creating mass municipal confusion and preying on the ignorance of innocents to perpetrate their fraud with a litany of criminal and anti-American activities. What this group perpetrated on our community can only the process forward? And, more importantly, who was the city staffer advising the mayor and supposedly looking out for the city's best interest? Who is this person and why are they still employed? Harsh? You bet. I can accept how the mayor was blind sided on this issue; however, the person(s) who brought forward the request to recognize and legitimize this fraudulent and subversive group should be fi red. Furthermore, if important decisions affecting our city, community and quality-of-life are being made in this manner and going unchallenged by management, or worse, being made solely on the basis of race and skin color, then we need to seriously examine the competency of our leadership because it's here that the enemy lies. I must commend the Fayetteville The Moorish organization in Cumberland County claims it a part of the Moorish Science Temple. But the official organization has disavowed them. be viewed as outrageous and contemptuous by the mayor, the city manager, city council and all city residents, regardless of their political affi liation, race, color or religious belief. However, the good and decent citizens of our African- American communities should be the most offended since this thread of corruption was nurtured and routed through the ranks of their own using the city's goodwill and faith infrastructure as the unconscionable conduit. Yes, Mayor Chavonne stepped up to take responsibility for this unfortunate mishap, however, there are still many questions yet to be answered. Who was the city staffer(s) who requested the proclamation? Who endorsed the proclamation and moved Fayetteville's Weather Forecast February 24 Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Friday Thursday February 23 Saturday February 25 Observer's senior staff reporter Andrew Barksdale. As a journalist, he made our industry proud with the excellent job he did reporting on this situation after sifting through a mountain of silly, nonsensical garbage and misinformation that this sect uses nationwide empowering them to further their unethical antics. Barksdale's, Feb. 17 article in the Fayetteville Observer is a must read for all residents and caring patriotic Americans. In conclusion, let this serve as a wake up call for the entire City of Fayetteville. It demonstrates how vulnerable we have become when race relations take the form of intimidation rather than communication resulting in decisions being made predicated on appeasement rather than fairness and good governance. This is no way to grow and develop a healthy community. It is my hope we have learned a valuable lesson here — if not, the worse is yet to come. BILL BOWMAN, Publisher. COMMENTS? Bill@upandcomin- gweekly.com. CalCall 910.354.1679l 910.354.1679 Sunday Monday February 26 February 27 Calendar ........................................... 14 Concert Connection ........................ 18 TV ..................................................... 20 Movie Review .................................. 21 Free Wheelin' Feelin' ....................... 22 Horoscopes/Advice Goddess ......... 23 Classifieds ........................................ 24 Games .............................................. 26 The Enemy Is Within Tuesday February 28 High 71 Low 47° Partly Cloudy High 66° Low 42° Partly Cloudy 4 UCW FEBRUARY 22-28, 2012 High 62° Low 43° Sunny Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. High 62° Low 42° Mostly Cloudy High 62º Low 38º Partly Cloudy High 62º Low 39º Partly Cloudy WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 24 24 / 7