Sister Of Muslim Dentistry Student Says ‘Parking Dispute’ Story Outrageous

The man who allegedly killed three Muslim students Tuesday near the University of North Carolina, Craig Stephen Hicks,  had reportedly harassed them by flashing a gun at them, according to the sister of one of the victims.

In a Friday morning appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Dr. Suzanne Barakat, whose 23-year-old brother Deah was killed allegedly by neighbor Hicks, disputed the initial motive that Hicks shot the Muslim students due to a long-running parking dispute.  This was the initial motive laid out by the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, police.

Barakat said she had evidence that police may not have seen indicating that Hicks had a deeper problem with her brother and his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, both of whom were shot dead.

“I think it’s absolutely insulting, insensitive and outrageous that the first thing they come out and say and issue a statement that this is a parking dispute,” Barakat said.

“I’m not sure who they spoke to, because it took me all of five minutes of talking to [Deah’s] former roommate, whom they had not reached out to, to give me details, information, text messages,” she said, adding that police hadn’t yet reached out to her family either.

Barakat said she believed Hicks, whose apparent Facebook page showed he had strong anti-religion beliefs and identified as an “anti-theist,” had been “harassing” the family since they first arrived at the apartment complex because the women wore headscarves.

Were the shooting victims found in the parking lot?

The police warrant for the shooting shows Deah Barakat was shot in the head, and that Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha wre shot inside the house, according to WKRG.com.

“When officers approached the apartment, they located a male subject that was bleeding from the head,” the warrant stated. “The male subject showed no signs of life,” according to WNCN.com.

Inside Apartment 272, the police found two bodies.

“One female was lying in the kitchen, near the dishwasher, and another female was lying in the doorway of the next room, near the kitchen. Both subjects showed no signs of life and were wearing Muslim headdresses,” the warrant said.

More:

http://www.wncn.com/story/28105951/warrants-man-accused-in-chapel-hill-shooting-had-at-least-12-guns

Friend Of Slain Muslim Students Tells GOP And Fox News: Stop Dehumanizing Muslims

A friend of the Muslim students who died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina recently talked to CNN about Fox News and Republicans demonizing Muslims.

“…speaking as an American Muslim, I can tell you that we cannot deny there’s a sentiment in the community that we feel we are being targeted for our faith,” said Shafi Khan.

“There are certain sections of the media and political apparatus that are constantly demonizing Muslims.  And I want to take a minute and ask people like Fox News and Bobby Jindal to stop the dehumanization of Muslims.  It’s really, really starting to take a toll.”

More:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/friend-of-slain-muslim-students-rips-gop-and-fox-news-stop-dehumanizing-muslims/

U.S. Rep. Jones: Recommends Impeachment Of Obama, Says Obama Doesn’t Uphold The Constitution

U.S. Representative Walter Jones, R-NC, claims Republicans must fulfill their constitutional duties by impeaching Obama due to immigration.

Wikipedia states that Walter Jones, Jr. (born February 10, 1943) is the U.S. Representative for North Carolina’s 3rd congressional district, serving since 1995.

Right Wing Watch

North Carolina Removes Voting Sites From College Campuses

Apparently, North Carolina has removed early-voting sites from some college campuses.

Some of the largest college campuses in the state will not host early voting sites for the fall election.

The Huffington Post states:

“The Republican-dominated North Carolina State Board of Elections, among other efforts, has sought to remove an early-voting location from the campus of Appalachian State University…”

According to the newspaper The State:

“The issue raised the ire of students and voting advocacy groups, and a lawsuit was brought over the removal of a site from Appalachian State University. On Wednesday, after an N.C. Court of Appeals decision, the State Board of Elections added a voting site at ASU. Minutes later, the state Supreme Court said it was sending the case to the Appeals Court to review.”

Below is a video about it with Cenk Uygur.  One point that Uygur also brings up is the clever way that Fox News seems to bring on women to criticize women, blacks to criticize blacks, and Latinos to criticize Latinos.

http://www.thestate.com/2014/10/23/3763163_nc-election-law-eliminates-early.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

Close Senate Election In North Carolina

According to One News Now, the North Carolina senate election is very close, and voter turnout should be a major factor in the U.S. Senate race in North Carolina.

Democrat Kay Hagen continues to lead Republican challenger Thom Tillis by one and a half points, according to a Real Clear Politics compilation of seven statewide Senate polls.

Tillis has a one-point lead in the newest of those polls, a Survey USA poll.

Gary Bauer of American Values says a strong rural turnout could swing North Carolina in favor of Tillis and make it more likely that Republicans would be able to win enough seats to gain control of the Senate.

The Greensboro (N.C.) News and Record states, “The latest polls show incumbent Hagan, a Democrat, in a statistical tie with Republican challenger Tillis.”

In 2010, Tillis was elected speaker of the N.C. House, and became one of the most powerful Republicans in the state.

State Republicans had a majority in both houses.  They made use of their power, rolling back regulations, overhauling the tax code and adopting a voter ID requirement.  Tillis touts their efforts to push a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, add new restrictions on abortions and require welfare recipients to take drug tests.

In typical Republican fashion, Tillis is now hoping that his opponent’s popularity will wane as Obama’s has.  He is stressing her support for the federal health care overhaul, which some polls have found unpopular among North Carolina voters.

Tillis has harped on what he considers Obama’s — and in turn Hagan’s — lack of action against the Islamic State, a terrorist group that controls part of Syria.  He has pointed out Hagan’s low attendance at Senate Armed Services Committee meetings.

He has supported the state’s constitutional amendment against gay marriage.  Tillis, the speaker of the state House of Representatives, said he would defend the amendment because “60 percent of the people of North Carolina” voted for it.

However, the claim that 60 percent of the people are against it is being called into question.

The amendment, enacted through a 2012 ballot measure, has been tied up in court.

Tillis also opposes amnesty for immigrants. His website says:  “Thom opposes amnesty and he believes Congress should solve our border security crisis now — before it even debates any other changes to our immigration laws.”

Apparently he doesn’t mention that more North Carolinians now have health insurance, the deficit is down, and the unemployment rate has decreased… or that the U.S. coalition is beating ISIS at Kobani.

Koch Brothers False Voter Registration Mailers

Americans For Prosperity (a conservative group with financial ties to the wealthy brothers Charles and David Koch) sent hundreds of North Carolina voters incorrect voter registration information, according to the State Board of Elections.

The mailers contained false information about the deadline to submit voter registration forms, incorrect contact information for the Secretary of State and State Board of Elections offices and an incorrect explanation about how voters are notified that their information has been received.

Clearly, some people may have sent in the mailers thinking that they would be registered, but were not.

Joshua Lawson, a public information officer with the State Board of Elections, told the News & Observer that his office has been receiving phone calls “all day, every day” asking about the mailings. He said that one resident had even received a registration form addressed to her cat.

“It’s unclear where [Americans for Prosperity] got their list, but it’s caused a lot of confusion for people in the state,” Lawson said, explaining that the group did not alert the board before sending the forms.

Misinformation about voter registration can be a felony if it is intentionally misleading and suppresses votes.

Bob Hall, the executive director of Democracy NC, told The Huffington Post that he believed an investigation should be conducted.

In his statement, Hall referenced a television ad that State Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R) was forced to change after the state’s NAACP chapter complained that it gave misleading information to voters about a new identification requirement that doesn’t go into effect until 2016.

North Carolina Elections Dominated by Third-Party Money

Polls have shown North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan (D) to be vulnerable at re-election, and there is a competitive Republican primary going on.

An interesting thing has happened in NC during this primary season:  big money is being spent by third-party groups, including PACs and  political nonprofits.  

According to Wesleyan Media Project, NC has aired more political ads than any state, at 15,000, costing $6.3 million.  Also, a bigger percentage of advertising money came from third-party groups (90 percent) than in any other state.

http://mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/2014/04/29/interest-group-advertising-pours-into-senate-races/

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-carolina-senate-race-flooded-with-ads-from-outside-groups/

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/23/upshot/24upshot-south-poll.html?_r=1