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‘The guilt of feeling grateful to be alive is heavy’ Page B2 JUNE 17 – JUNE 23, 2016

VOLUME 24 NO. 25

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NO EASY ANSWERS

Sexual orientation. Homophobia. Race. Terrorism. Easy access to high-powered weaponry. Mental health. All were factors in America’s latest mass shooting – this time in our Central Florida ‘backyard.’ COMPILED BY THE FLORIDA COURIER STAFF

ORLANDO – Terrorism brutalized Florida early Sunday morning, June 12, leaving 50 people dead, including the shooter, and 53 more injured. The horrific shooting by a lone gunman around 2 a.m. at the Pulse gay nightclub in downtown Orlando – declared “an act of terror and an act of hate” by President Obama – prompted Gov. Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency in Orange County. Authorities identified the killer as Omar Mateen, 29, who was killed in a shootout with police after he held some club-goers hostage for about three hours. Mateen, a Fort Pierce resident, had a clean criminal record, passed a mental-health screening to get

a security guard job, lawfully purchased guns from a licensed dealer, and abided by the state’s three-day waiting period to complete the purchase of guns, according to state records. As an intensive investigation into Mateen’s background by law enforcement expanded and dogged work by journalists was published, a more complex picture emerges.

lamic ideas. Mateen, a would-be cop who never made it through the police academy, had a history of domestic violence and was investigated by the FBI twice, including two years ago when he was linked to another Fort Pierce man who killed himself in a terrorist bombing in Syria. The FBI bureau in Tampa, however, closed their probes after concluding that Mateen, whose parents are Mental health from Afghanistan, posed no Mateen had an online threat. bride from Uzbekistan who said he beat her and co- Anger problems workers who feared he had Mateen worked securiterrorist leanings. He was on ty for G4S, a global securithe FBI’s radar since at least 2013 when acquaintances ty company, at the PGA Vil– at least one of them a for- lage in Palm Beach County. mer law enforcement officer Daniel Gilroy, a former Fort – warned authorities that he Pierce police officer, said JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS was prone to violence, made he worked with Mateen for unspecified threats, and about one year, finally quit- A view of the Pulse nightclub sign in Orlando. More than 100 people were shot seemed to have radical IsSee ORLANDO, Page A2 by a single gunman at the nightclub in the early morning hours on June 12.

Security to tighten against ‘homegrown’ threats BY BRIAN BENNETT TRIBUNE WASHINGTON BUREAU / TNS

WASHINGTON – Travelers, sports fans and concertgoers may see more police and tighter security screening at airports and events this summer in the wake of Sunday night’s mass shooting in Orlando, according to a Department of Homeland Security bulletin issued Wednesday. While no intelligence indicates a “specific and credible” threat of an impending terrorist plot, the bulletin cites the Orlando shooting, as well as recent attacks at a county building in San Bernardino, Calif., at an airport and subway in Brussels, and at restaurants and a concert hall in Paris as examples of terrorists targeting crowded public spaces. “In this environment, we are particularly concerned about homegrown violent extremists who could strike with little or no notice. The tragic events of Orlando… reinforce this,” the bulletin states. The wording of the one-page advisory, called a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin, is similar to a notice issued in December under a revamped terrorism alert system that replaced the widely mocked color-coded threat alerts. Last year’s notice was set to expire on Thursday. The new bulletin urged Americans to continue to travel and attend public events, but to be vigilant and report suspicious activity to police. “Make a mental note of emergency exits and locations of the nearest security personnel,” it says. It also recommends that Americans carry a list of emergency contacts and keep cellphones in their pockets instead of in bags, so they aren’t lost during a violent incident.

ALSO INSIDE

GATOR ATTACK AT WDW

Another tragedy in Orlando

Legislative fight flares up Politicians sound off on gun laws BY JIM TURNER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

TALLAHASSEE – The mass shootings in an Orlando nightclub this week have fueled the already-polarizing issues of gun rights and gun control, with the debate expected to return on multiple fronts during Florida’s 2017 legislative session. Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday called for a special session to halt gun sales to people on federal watch lists and to impose new requirements for becoming a security guard. Republican legislative leaders say a special session isn’t needed. Instead, lawmakers next spring are expected to revisit measures that failed during the 2016 session, such as proposals to allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to openly carry handguns in most public places and to be able to bring their side arms onto university and college campuses. Lawmakers could also consider eliminating “gun-free zones,” which are places, including nightclubs, where people with concealed-weapons licenses are not allowed to tote weapons.

‘Protects the terrorist’

RED HUBER/ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS

On Wednesday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Marine Unit recovered the body of two-year-old Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Neb. The boy was attacked by an alligator Tuesday night while wading in a lagoon at the Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World near Lake Buena Vista. Autopsy results are pending.

SNAPSHOTS NATION | A6

Why tragedy is more likely to divide politicians

FLORIDA | B3

NATION | B4

Courier photographer attends Ali funeral

Church shooting suspect to get jury trial

“Time and time again we’ve seen that gun-free zones don’t protect anybody but the terrorist,” said state Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican who has played a leading role in supporting gun-rights legislation. “There is nothing you can do if you’re on the inside, and you have no firearm in which to engage a shooter, but hide behind a desk or hide behind wherever and wait until the police arrive. And I don’t believe that should be the public policy of the state of Florida.” Such proposals in the past would have exempted courthouses and businesses, such as Disney World, where people have to go through security checkpoints. “You know that no one is walking in with a gun because there is security and a metal detector,” said Steube, who See LAWS, Page A2

COMMENTARY: ANTHONY L. HALL: THE LATEST MASS SHOOTING IN GUN-CRAZY USA | A4 COMMENTARY: MARSHA COLEMAN-ADEBAYO: TRUTH ABOUT AMERICAN TERORISTS, MASSACRES | A4

FOCUS

JUNE 17 – JUNE 23, 2016

‘The guilt…is heavy’ The guilt of feeling grateful to be alive is heavy. Wanting to smile about surviving but not sure if the people around you are ready. As the world mourns, the victims killed, and viciously slain, I feel guilty about screaming about my legs in pain because I can feel nothing Like the other 49 who weren’t so lucky to feel this pain of mine. I never thought in a million years that this could happen. I never thought in a million years that my eyes could witness something so tragic. Looking at the souls leaving the bodies of individuals Looking at the killer’s machinegun throughout my right peripheral. Looking at the blood and debris covered on everyone’s faces Looking at the gunman’s feet under the stall as he paces The guilt of feeling lucky to be alive is heavy. It’s like the weight of the ocean’s walls crushing uncontrolled by levies. It’s like being drug through the grass with a shattered leg and thrown on the back of a Chevy. It’s like being rushed to the hospital and told you’re going to make it when laid beside individuals whose lives were brutally taken.

COURTESY OF ABC13.COM

Patience Carter, 20, survived last week’s mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. She wrote this poem about her experience.

Three-hour shooting rampage and hostage siege Gunman wielding an an assault-type riflerifle and and a handgun, GunmanOmar OmarMateen, Mateen, wielding assault-type a handgun, opened fire inside a crowded gay nightclub in opened fire inside a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando early Orlando, Sunday Florida, early Sunday, leaving at least 49 people dead in the worst June leavinginatU.S. leasthistory. 49 people dead. is a timeline of events. mass12, shooting Here is aHere timeline of events.

5:05 a.m.: Police breach the building. Mateen emerges and is killed.

Restrooms

2:30 a.m.: Mateen makes three 911 calls and resumed killing.

Restrooms

5 4

Stage

3 Bar

Stage

Reception

Emergency exit

Esther

Police officers enter the building and engage in a gun battle with Mateen, which they say forced him to retreat to the restrooms.

Main dance floor

Mateen walks back into Pulse and open fires, trapping dozens of people inside.

Bar

2 VIP seating

Entrance

Orange Ave.

Pulse Nightclub

Bar

Restrooms

Stage

2:02 a.m.: An off-duty officer working at the nightclub responds to shots at the entrance and exchanges fire with Omar Mateen. Two more officers showed up and opened fire. Mateen fired back.

Outdoor patio

ORLANDO from A1

ting in March 2015 because the environment had become toxic. “He was always on the edge, always hyper and agitated,” Gilroy told the Miami Herald. “He would never have more than three or four sentences without using the word ‘nigger’ or ‘queer’ or ‘dike.’ It was always about violence.” After Gilroy quit, Mateen began bombarding him with angry text messages, saying he felt betrayed. “I finally confronted him and I told him, ‘We’re not friends,’” Gilroy said. “He just had anger issues. I was scared for my family.”

Domestic abuse Mateen’s ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, claimed that Mateen was unstable and frequently beat her. On a blog post, she said she left Uzbekistan for the United States

‘Nothing questionable’ For armed security officers, Florida law requires a security company to provide a verified written psychological test or an interview with a licensed psychologist showing the person is “mentally and emotionally stable.” “Mateen was subject to detailed company screening when he was recruited in 2007 and rescreened in 2013 with no adverse findings,” G4S asserted in a statement this week. “He was also subject to

Down-low lifestyle? The FBI is investigating reports that Mateen used gay dating apps and regularly visited Pulse. At least five people have come forward saying they saw Mateen at gay clubs. One former classmate of Mateen’s 2006 police academy class told The Palm Beach Post that he believed Mateen was gay, saying Mateen once tried to pick him up at a bar. “We went to a few gay bars with him, and I was not out at the time, so I declined his offer,” said the former classmate, who asked that his name not be used. He believed Mateen was gay, but not open about it. Mateen was awkward, and for a while the classmate and the rest in the group of friends felt sorry for him.

Wasn’t liked

Fence

Source: AP, Orlando Sentinel, Google Graphic: Staff, Tribune News Service

when she was 11. She met Mateen online and in 2009, she moved to Florida to marry him. “He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn’t finished or something,” she told the Washington Post. Mateen eventually remarried and had a son. His widow, Noor Zahi Salman, may be subject to federal criminal charges if she knew the attack was going to occur but failed to alert authorities.

showing affection for each other in front of his son’s wife and 3-year-old son a few months earlier in Miami. “He got very angry…They were kissing each other and touching each other and he said, ‘Look at that. In front of my son they are doing that.’”

checks by a U.S. law enforcement agency with no findings reported to G4S.” Psychological evaluations for armed security officers are generally not as rigorous as the exams given to police officers, said Robin Inwald, a psychologist who developed some of the first guidelines for police and public safety screening and fitness-for-duty evaluations in the early 1980s. The latest guidelines from experts recommend both a written test and an interview by a licensed psychologist. Such tests are more effective but also more time-consuming and expensive, Inwald said.

Enraged by gays The gunman’s father, Seddique Mateen, told NBC News that his son’s rampage was motivated by homophobia. “This has nothing to do with religion,” said his father. He theorized that his son became enraged by two men who had been

“He just wanted to fit in and no one liked him,” he said. “He was always socially awkward.” Other news outlets talked to people who said they saw Mateen at Pulse years before Sunday’s massacre. Jim Van Horn, 71, told The Associated Press that Mateen was a regular at the club. “He was trying to pick up people. Men,” he said. While acknowledging he didn’t know Mateen well, Van Horn said: “I think it’s possible that he was trying to deal with his inner demons, of trying to get rid of his anger of homosexuality.”

Inspired by ISIS Mateen increasingly sought out Islamic State videos and other radical Islamist propaganda in the months leading up to his shooting rampage Sunday, investigators have found. And in the midst of the deadly attack, he paused multiple times to get the message out that he was acting in solidarity with the militant group. In addition to calling 911, he also called a local television station, Orlando’s News 13, to tell a producer, “I did it for ISIS. I did it for

LAWS from A1

is running for the Senate this year. Under a proposal rolled out Wednesday by a group of Central Florida Democrats, a special session would be held to consider legislation that would prohibit anyone on a federal watch list or no-fly list – due to suspicion of terrorist ties or activities – from purchasing firearms in Florida. Those no longer on the list would be able to buy guns, but after a more “extensive background check” by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Preventative measure Sen. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, called the proposal a tactical measure to prevent future tragedies. Soto was joined at a press conference outside the Orange County Courthouse by Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, and Reps. John Cortes of Kissimmee and Randolph Bracy of Orlando. Thompson, who along with Soto is running for Congress and will not be part of the Legislature in

JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL/TNS

Drug Enforcement Agency agents arrive on the scene near the Pulse nightclub as the investigation continues into the massacre. 2017, said the state needs to tighten policies on who can obtain guns. “We’ve got to look at our background check to make sure people cannot buy guns at gun shows without a background checks, that they cannot buy guns from private individuals without a background check,” Thompson said. “We’ve got to look at our rules here in the state of Florida as to who can be licensed as a security guard.”

How much firepower? Thompson also said the state and federal government need to review how much firepower people need for self-protection. “I don’t think there is anyone here who opposes a person’s right to defend themselves,” Thompson said. “But what do you need for self-defense? Do you need a bazooka? Do you need a flame thrower? Do you need a rocket launch-

er? Do you need an assaultstyle weapon? It is those kinds of things we want to examine in the special session.” Cortes said only law enforcement should have assault rifles similar to the one used Sunday in the attack at the Orlando nightclub Pulse. Marion Hammer, the longtime Tallahassee lobbyist for the National Rifle Association and the Unified Sportsmen of Florida,

the Islamic State.” News 13’s managing editor researched the phone number from where the call was placed, and matched it to Omar Mateen. A federal law enforcement official confirmed the station’s account.

Racial angle Patience Carter, 20, and two friends had been near the Pulse restroom when the shooting began and they fled into a stall. A man who had closed the bathroom stall to shield the rest was shot, she said. Later, she heard Mateen complain, “Damn! It jammed,” as he fiddled with the gun. They cowered inside the handicapped bathroom stall, injured and pinned by a crush of bleeding bodies, when Mateen opened fire again. “He said, ‘Are there any Black people in here?’ I was too afraid to answer,” said Carter, who is Black. Carter continued: “There was an African-American man in the stall with us … he said, ‘Yes, there are about six or seven of us.’ The gunman responded back to him saying that, ‘you know, I don’t have a problem with Black people, this is about my country. You guys suffered enough.’” Despite having “suffered enough,” at least eight of the 49 people Mateen killed were African-American.

Gun control President Obama and others used the massacre to press for stricter gun laws. Obama – who has seen 15 mass shootings since he took office in 2008 – noted (mistakenly) that Sunday’s tragedy was the deadliest shooting in the nation’s history. “This massacre is…a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school, or in a house of worship, or a movie theater, or in a nightclub. “And we have to decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing is a decision as well,” he said.

Dara Kam of the News Service of Florida; Molly Hennessy-Fiske of the Los Angeles Times; David Fleshler and Skyler Swisher of the Sun Sentinel; and David Ovalle and Alex Harris of the Miami Herald (TNS) all contributed to this report.

said in an email that the special session request by “these ultraliberal, gun hating Democrats” is “political grandstanding.” The request for the special session came as U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat from Orlando, filed federal legislation Wednesday that would allow the FBI to enter the names of people who are or have been investigated for possible ties to terrorism into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, which gun-shop owners use to run background checks on prospective gun buyers. The bill wouldn’t bar people from buying guns, but would flag them for the FBI when background checks are conducted. “We’re not saying: don’t sell guns to someone just because they were investigated,” Nelson said in a prepared statement. “But having a system in place that alerts the FBI if someone they once investigated is suddenly trying to purchase multiple assault weapons is just common sense.”

Former security guard The gunman in Orlando, who reportedly had no criminal history and

cleared background checks to become a security guard, had been on a terrorism watch list in 2013 and 2014. However, FBI Director James Comey told reporters Monday that “once an investigation is closed, there is then no notification of any sort that is triggered by that person then attempting to purchase a firearm when the cases were closed as inconclusive.” The NRA released a statement Wednesday that maintained its opposition to barring “law-abiding” people from buying guns. “Anyone on a terror watch list who tries to buy a gun should be thoroughly investigated by the FBI and the sale delayed while the investigation is ongoing,” Chris W. Cox, the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action executive director, said in a release. “If an investigation uncovers evidence of terrorist activity or involvement, the government should be allowed to immediately go to court, block the sale, and arrest the terrorist. At the same time, due process protections should be put in place that allow lawabiding Americans who are wrongly put on a watch list to be removed.”

JUNE 17 – JUNE 23, 2016

FLORIDA

Why gay men in US can’t donate blood The FDA’s latest guidance imposes a one-year delay on donation. BY JOHN TOZZI BLOOMBERG NEWS/TNS

NEW YORK — In the aftermath of the shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 people and injured 53, blood centers were overwhelmed with people who wanted to donate. Gay men, however, weren’t all allowed to do so – a policy harking back to the height of the AIDS crisis, and one that was quickly derided as discriminatory and an insult to a community under attack. Until recently, men who had had sex with men at any point in their lives were prohibited from giving blood in the U.S., the rationale being that they were more likely to be HIVpositive. Federal authorities have begun to loosen those restrictions, which were put in place in 1985, following years of opposition by gay rights advocates and improvements in screening technology. In December, the Food and Drug Administration published new, voluntary guidelines for blood centers that would permit donations by gay or bisexual men who have abstained from sex for one year.

Old rule assailed Kelsey Louie, chief executive of Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), called the new FDA guidelines “a baby step in the right direction.” GMHC, founded in the

LOREN ELLIOTT/TAMPA BAY TIMES/ZUMA PRESS/TNS

Orlando resident Scott Fuchs gives blood as phlebotomist Nicole Copeland tends to him at OneBlood in Orlando on June 12. The center was flooded with donors lined up around the corner to give blood after the mass shooting early Sunday first days of the AIDS crisis, wants the process to evaluate donor eligibility based on individual risk behavior, rather than their sexual orientation. Advocates have repeatedly assailed the old FDA rule as a double standard, while medical professionals defended it as prudent. Scott Schoettes, senior

attorney and HIV project director at Lambda Legal, said a rigorous approach based on donor behavior, rather than identity, wouldn’t only reduce discrimination but could improve safety. “Someone could go out and have sex with eight different people in a span of a month. As long as that

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was heterosexual sex, that would not ban them from giving blood,” Schoettes said. “There’s day-to-day discrimination going on against gay and bisexual men on this issue.”

The time gap The concern about HIV in the blood supply focuses on the window between infection and when it may be detectable. Though much longer when the initial FDA rule was put in place, that gap is only nine to 11 days with the latest tests. While all donated blood is screened, if a person who contracted HIV were to donate during that window, it might not be detected. Even before the Orlando massacre, GMHC had been planning to hold a news conference in New York on June 14, World Blood Donor Day, to draw attention to the issue. “This stigma perpetuates the very, very old notion that HIV is a gay disease,” Louie said. “They are taking a group of people – gay and bisexual men – and saying that only they have to have one year of celibacy.”

Lifetime ban The FDA’s latest guidance does include other groups subject to the oneyear delay on donation, regardless of sexual orientation. These include people who have been diagnosed

with, or treated for, syphilis or gonorrhea, and those who got tattoos from an unregulated tattoo parlor. Individuals engaged in sex work or injection drug use are subject to a lifetime ban. The HIV epidemic continues to disproportionately affect gay and bisexual men, especially gay men of color. Men who have sex with men represent just 4 percent of the male population but account for 63 percent of new HIV infections and 54 percent of those currently living with HIV, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control.

‘Long time coming’ The FDA’s one-year guideline is “extremely precautionary and, in that sense, appropriate,” said Louis M. Katz, chief medical officer of America’s Blood Centers, a network of community blood centers, including the one in Orlando that put out the call for donations after Sunday’s attack. Katz, an infectious disease specialist who has treated HIV patients, said the deferment period could probably be shortened, but even a six month or 30-day waiting period may be seen as discriminatory. “We look at moving from permanent to one-year as a first step,” Katz said. “I think the next step’s going

to be a long time coming.”

No increase Data from Australia showed that a one-year deferment period, as opposed to a total ban, didn’t increase the number of HIV-positive donations. No comparable evidence exists for an approach to blood screening based on individual risk assessment, according to the FDA. “A time-based deferral for (men who have sex with men) since last sexual encounter is the one deferral policy that has been demonstrated to be effective in a setting with similar HIV epidemiology to the U.S.,” the agency wrote in its December guidelines. Blood centers are still in the process of putting the new FDA guidelines in place, according to Katz. A spokeswoman for the American Red Cross said it is “working to change its processes and computer systems in order to implement this change.” Both organizations supported the policy. Gay rights advocates point to policies in Argentina and Italy that take risk-based approaches. Katz said the data on how those approaches affect the risk of infections aren’t clear-cut. Studies to detect small changes in what’s already a very small risk are difficult to perform.

EDITORIAL

JUNE 17 – JUNE 23, 2016

The latest mass shooting in the gun-crazy USA The Orlando Massacre sadly reinforces my contention that mass shootings in the United States have become as commonplace as mass bombings in Iraq. And I’m still waiting for U.S. politicians to explain why they think occasional massacres by Muslims constitute “acts of terrorism” – but regular massacres by non-Muslims do not. In any event, such acts of terrorism cause a numbing sense of anomie. (Editor’s note: Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “anomie” as “personal unrest, alienation, and uncertainty that comes from a lack of purpose or ideals.”) This is why I doubt the average Iraqi would find it newsworthy that the latest mass bombing is the worst in Iraqi history. In a similar vein, I doubt the average American finds it newsworthy that this latest mass shooting is the worst in American history. After all, the only reasonable thought anyone could have in the midst of such commonplace violence is the idiomatic, “There but for the grace of God go I.”

No distinction Our LGBT brothers and sisters were targeted. But the casualties such shootings and bombings have left in their wake make distressingly clear that terrorism is no respecter of race, creed, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or anything else. Meanwhile, why should we care if this gunman was a crazy White guy or a Muslim jihad-

ANTHONY L. HALL, ESQ. FLORIDA COURIER COLUMNIST

ist; or whether he was motivated by anti-gay hatred or Islamic extremism? Especially when it’s arguable that American gun merchants, motivated by profits at all costs, pose a far greater danger. After all, their National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbyists have bribed most members of Congress into propagating the plainly absurd fiction that everyone has a constitutional right to buy the kind of military-style assault rifle the Orlando gunman used. Hell, the NRA has so proselytized the false promises and protections of gun ownership, it has an increasing number of Americans thinking that the best way to react to shooting massacres is to rush out and buy their own military-style assault weapons. If congressmen had shown the modicum of courage necessary to enact sensible gun-control legislation to ban such weapons, this gunman (using only a handgun) would not have been able to kill nearly as many people. Until they do, members of Congress who oppose such legislation will be willfully complicit in all such mass shootings.

Seen it all before It’s really that simple, folks. All else is folly. Therefore, I see no

The truth about American terrorists and massacres We seem to be truly bewildered when blood flows on the streets of America. Often, some of these incidents of late can contextually be linked to murderous U.S. foreign policy adventures in the Middle East. Malcolm X would have noted that U.S. foreign policies have resulted in “chickens coming home to roost.” The ability to contain violence in foreign theaters has become an unattainable goal for the Empire. Therefore, everyday citizens are now targets of combat. Whether the latest mass murderer is insane or not, what is clear is that U.S. citizens must decide whether they will allow murder and plunder across the globe to continue in their names. And, perhaps, more importantly, whether they are prepared to accept the consequences.

DR. MARSHA COLEMANADEBAYO BLACK AGENDA REPORT

A historical reminder The news media has framed the latest massacre in Orlando as the largest mass murder in U.S. history. Some members of the media with a measure of intellectual integrity will add that the Orlando Massacre is the largest “post 9-11.” Regardless, human beings lost their lives and communities are in mourning. However, historical records remind us that the murders in Orlando, unfortunately, do not constitute the largest domestic mass murders. This narrative proposed by corporate media is in

Weapons of mass murder are our common enemy A colleague used to say there was nothing like being attacked to bring Americans together. He said we had always been able to set aside our disagreements in wartime to face a common enemy. But it’s hard these days to find that sense of common community after an attack. We can’t agree on who or what the enemy is. We can’t even agree that those attacked were part of the family of Americans. These days in the face of a tragedy, our instinct is to turn on one another. And so it was after Sunday’s mass killing at an Orlando gay bar.

REKHA BASU GUEST COLUMNIST

‘Ban them’ To hear Donald Trump’s take on Sunday’s killings, Omar Mateen’s homophobia was the result of “radical Islam.” The presumptive Republican nominee for president used the occasion to repeat his call for foreign Muslims to be banned from America. The fact is, a ban on Muslims wouldn’t have prevented Ma-

point in commenting any further, except to share my constant admonitions. With respect to stopping mass shootings/bombings, “It must be understood that no matter their collective resolve, there’s absolutely nothing law enforcement officials can do to prevent [them],” as I wrote in 2005 in reference to terrorist attacks in London that year. Incidentally, it came as no surprise that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, couldn’t wait to tweet insinuations about this happening because President Obama is too weak. Of course, he’s banking on so-called journalists just eating up his tweet, instead of challenging him on it; namely by forcing him to explain what a “strong…smart… tough” President Trump would do to prevent such shootings/ bombings, or how he would react if they occurred on his watch. (Hint: He does not have a friggin’ clue.)

Repetitive coverage With respect to the media’s obsessive, repetitive coverage, which is as motivated by profits as the gun manufacturers’ peddling of assault weapons, I wrote this in 2007: “I don’t know why the media always reward these psychotic people by giving them the fame they covet; that is, by plastering their pathetic mugs all over television and on the front page of every major newspaper … worldwide, and reporting pop psychology about why and how

VISUAL VIEWPOINT: ORLANDO

JOHN COLE, THE SCRANTON TIMES-TRIBUNE

they did their dastardly deeds. Isn’t it clear to see, especially in this age of instant celebrity, why some loser kid would find this route to infamy irresistible? “You’d think – given the record of these psychotic and vainglorious episodes since Columbine – that we would have figured out by now that the best way to discourage them is by focusing our attention on the victims and limiting what we say about the shooter to, ‘May God have mercy on your soul as you burn in hell!’” In 2013, I wrote this about the Boston Marathon bombing: “With respect to future shootings or bombings, especially given the unprecedented carnage this lone wolf caused, the national mourning he evoked, the wall-to-wall coverage he commanded, and the political hysteria he incited, God help us if al-Qaeda ever decided to emulate this feat by coordinating 10 similar [shootings], at 10 football

search of a public willing to digest a sanitized and less-than thoughtful version of history that conforms with the simplistic but dangerous notion of American exceptionalism. The truth is much less flattering. As we mourn the loss of young life in Florida, let us also mourn the massacre of thousands of young unarmed African men and women who lose their lives almost daily at the hands of police, and entire Black communities struggling to escape the violence of White supremacy. We must not forget the East St. Louis Massacres of 1917 – described as the worst race and labor violence in the 20th century – with casualties ranging between 40 and 200 deaths. In the spring of 1917, Blacks escaping from the terror of the South were arriving in St. Louis at the rate of 2,000 per week. White union workers were determined to stop Blacks from competing for job in the trades by refusing to allow Africans membership in trade unions. White corporate leaders, taking advantage of cheap and competitive labor, viewed Africans as scab workers to stabilize and maintain low wages for Whites.

Hundreds shot

teen, an American-born U.S. citizen, from being here. It would have kept out his Afghan-born parents before he was born. But if we start blaming people’s parents for mass shootings, what would Trump have said of Adam Lanza’s parents after the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School? What would his prescription be for the family of Dylann Roof, the White supremacist charged with multiple murders at Mother Emanuel AME in Charleston, S.C.?

weren’t radicalized before. And it feeds the perception the U.S. is at war with Islam itself. Mateen reportedly found his way to extremist groups and ideologies with the help of the Internet. He called the Boston Marathon bombers his “homeboys,” and funneled whatever rage and personal demons he had into a narrative of grievance as a Muslim. But Mateen, like Roof, also hated Black people. He assaulted his Muslim ex-wife.

Negative perception Hillary Clinton had a different take-away, which I share: Trump’s anti-Muslim positions are damaging efforts to defeat terrorism. When he or any other American leader makes all Muslims guilty by association with their religion, it’s heard by all Muslims, including those who

Following a meeting on May 28, 1917 in which rumors spread that Blacks and Whites were fraternizing, 3,000 White men marched into East St. Louis and attacked Black men and women. In a separate incident, White vigilantes burned entire sections of the city and shot inhabitants as they escaped the fire. In William Heaps’ 1970 book, “Target of Prejudice: The Negro, In Riot, USA 1765-1970,” he notes, “Members of the White community claimed that Southern Negros deserved a genuine lynching,” and a number of African-Americans were lynched during the White terror attacks. There was also the 1921 Tulsa, Okla. massacre in which Whites attacked one of the wealthiest African communities in the U.S. Over the course of 16 hours, these vigilantes burned private property, including a Black hospital, and injured over 800 people. Instead of police arresting White rioters, they detained and arrested over 6,000 Black residents. Ten thousand Blacks were left homeless and 35 city blocks were destroyed by fire. Officials

Crucial issue Dealing with just one issue right away could hamper the ability of angry, hateful or deranged killers to carry out mass shootings. We could take away their ready access to weapons. There’s your common enemy: Weapons of mass destruction. There is no defensible reason for an ordinary citizen to be able to

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stadiums, in the 10 biggest cities in America, all on a typical Saturday in the fall, when they’re packed with over 100,000 people watching college football games. Not only would the carnage be 1,000 times more devastating, but based on the reaction to this terrorist attack, law-enforcement authorities would have to lockdown not just the airports as they did on 9/11, but the entire friggin’ country, no?” With that, until the next mass shooting/bombing, my thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of these latest victims.

Anthony L. Hall is a Bahamian native with an international law practice in Washington, D.C. Read his columns and daily weblog at www. theipinionsjournal.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response. reported that 39 Blacks were murdered, but other estimates report between 55 to 300 people murdered.

All are tragic All massacres are horrific, from Orlando, East St. Louis, My Lai, Vietnam, Wounded Knee to Oklahoma. The latest massacre, however could provide an opportunity to understand the nexus between U.S. foreign policy adventures that plunder and violate countries in search of natural resources, and U.S. domestic racist actions that trigger staggering incidence of murder and violence on a scale nearly unfathomable outside America.

Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, “No FEAR: A Whistleblowers Triumph over Corruption and Retaliation at the EPA.” She worked at the EPA for 18 years and blew the whistle on a U.S. multinational corporation that endangered South African vanadium mine workers. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response. buy an assault weapon. And there’s your fix: Re-institute an assault weapons ban and implement comprehensive background checks for all gun sales, to keep them away from mentally unstable people and anyone who ever appeared on a terror watch list. Let’s work toward a day when a racist attack on a Black church, a sermon demonizing gay people, and even a public Koranburning are considered an attack on all of us and on the values we share. But first, let’s honor Sunday’s victims by making it hard for would-be killers, whatever their twisted motivation, to act on those impulses.

Rekha Basu is a columnist for the Des Moines Register.

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JUNE 17 – JUNE 23, 2016

Gary convention revealed political impotence Last weekend was supposed to be a remix of the 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary, Ind. Richard G. Hatcher, who became the first Black mayor of Gary in 1968; Newark, N.J. Mayor Ras J. Baraka, the son of the late poet/ activist Amira Baraka, one of the original organizers; and Tuskegee, Ala. Mayor Johnny Ford were there.

Sending ‘reps’ According to organizers, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders had confirmed they would attend. Convention officials had been in touch with Donald Trump's camp and were convinced that he, too, would land his jet in Gary. But within a week of the event, convention organizers said each presidential candidate said they would not be in attendance and offered to send a "representative" instead. For all of the talk about the importance of the Black vote and, in Donald Trump's case, "My African-American," it was what Bernie Sanders would characterize as a "hugeeee" slap in the face. Consider the legwork for the conference performed by the National Policy Alliance (NPA). Its members include: Blacks in Government, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association, the National Association of Black County Officials, the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, the National Black Council of School Board Members, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, the National Organization of Black County Officials, and the World Conference of Mayors.

GEORGE E. CURRY GEORGE CURRY MEDIA COLUMNIST

Democrats, who have been winning with a minority of the White vote and an overwhelming majority of people of color for the last half-century, simply cannot win without the Black vote. Representing millions NPA's website declared its "purpose is to give voice to the nearly 10,000 African American elected officials and the more than 3 million African-American government employees who serve the nation. Together, these public servants represent not only the interests of the 35 million AfricanAmericans, but the interests of all Americans. For example, the 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus represent approximately 40 million people of every racial and ethnic group." Yet, the major political candidates thought so little of AfricanAmericans that they were only

Ali will inspire me until I die “Where you been, boy?” When I heard those words in June 1966, I knew I was going to have rough time in the U.S. Navy. My immediate reply to that petty officer was, “Who are you calling a boy? I am a man!” I was 21 years old, already an angry Black man who experienced separate bathrooms, water fountains, and restaurants at Greyhound bus stops that had “Coloreds Served Round Back” signs posted on their front doors, and having to sit in the balcony of the local theater in Winston-Salem, N.C. during my high school years.

Already angry I was already angry about the murders of Medgar Evers, Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney, and Malcolm X. So I knew at that moment when a southern White guy called me “boy,” I would be a marked man on that ship because of my belligerence and unwillingness to go along to get along. Ten months later, when Mu-

JAMES CLINGMAN GEORGE CURRY MEDIA

hammad Ali refused to step forward to be drafted, I took a step up, got on his shoulders – and have been there ever since. My view from that perch has given me the spirit, the drive, the commitment, and the dedication to do what I have done for decades now. His example gave me the audacity and temerity to stand before anyone, White, Black or otherwise, to state my case and stand my ground. A backbone is much stronger than a wishbone. Ali had backbone, and he passed it on to me without ever knowing it. Ali and those few athletes who stood with him were giants in a land of cowering, timid, “yessah” men. He was bold, brash, brave, and brutal in his in-your-face assessment of society's ills. Ali was

Five things the GOP gets wrong about race While there is no denying that Donald Trump has had a terrible past couple of weeks with his dogged focus on some obscure federal judge in San Diego, I think Trump can right the ship, but he has an extremely narrow window to do so. This controversy with Trump and the judge has revealed yet again how unprepared the Republican Party is, in the 21st century, in dealing with the issue of race, especially relative to the Black community.

The first thing Republicans dealing with the issue of race deny that whatever happened was racist. Why does this happen? Republicans are surrounded by White staffers who think they know more about the Black community than Black people do. And I’m speaking from personal experience. Memo to Republicans # 1: Never say to the media, “I am not a racist.” That means you are losing the argument.

RAYNARD JACKSON NNPA COLUMNIST

willing to send a "representative" instead of coming themselves. I can say without fear of contradiction that neither of those candidates would have exhibited such an appalling disrespect toward a White organization of similar standing. As we have already seen, all of the major candidates cleared their schedules to speak before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Sanders spoke there even though he believes "to be successful, we have to be a friend not only to Israel, but to the Palestinian people, where in Gaza, they suffer from an unemployment rate of 44 percent – the highest in the world – and a poverty rate nearly equal to that." Except for Trump – who had advance warning that he would probably be booed – Republican presidential candidates knew they had to appear before the Conservative Political Action Conference. They were too afraid to not appear if they wanted to win the conservative vote.

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VISUAL VIEWPOINT: DONALD TRUMP

NATE BEELER, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

slice of the Black and Latino vote and augment that with their disenfranchisement efforts in different states. Democrats, who have been winning with a minority of the White vote and an overwhelming majority of people of color for the last half-century, simply cannot win without the Black vote. As the Washington Post pointed out, "in the 1992 election, 13 percent of the Democratic vote came from Black voters. In 2014, it was 23 percent." Since Lyndon B. Johnson's election in 1964, Republicans have carried the majority of White voters every year except 1996, the year Bill Clinton carried the nonHispanic White vote over Bob Dole by one percentage point, according to Gallup. In addition to questioning the major presidential candidates, a goal of the Gary conference was to develop a Black Agenda and force the presidential nominees to respond to it.

rocky start. I was asked to moderate the convention's Presidential Forum, but was told of the cancellation only days before the convention was to begin. I was also asked to moderate an intergenerational town hall, but that, too, was cancelled. With things falling apart, I decided to skip the convention. Before plans for the Presidential Forum fell into disarray, Mayor Johnny Ford told me, "Every presidential candidate has been invited. If they are interested in Black votes, they ought to want to come out and hear from us. We hear from them all the time." Apparently, they are content to keep it that way. And we keep accepting it.

the personification of dreams, from Ali. the realization of hopes, and the culmination of victory, with his Not enough fists as well as his voice – which It was not enough to wear could only be silenced by Parkin- hoodies when Trayvon was son's disease. killed; not enough to turn shirts inside out and throw them on Lifelong impact the basketball court in response His impact on my life has last- to a racist franchise owner; not ed for 50 years, and it will contin- enough to wear “I Can't Breathe” ue until I die. When they stripped t-shirts after Eric Garner was him of his title and took away his choked to death. It was not enough to stand in right to earn a living, I became even angrier at the government front of the Walmart where John for such a gross injustice. Years Crawford was killed for checklater, watching him fight the dai- ing out a BB Gun; not enough ly rounds of his real “Fight of the just to voice outrage after SanCentury” against such a relent- dra Bland died inside a jail cell less opponent as Parkinson's, my despite not committing a crime; commitment to help others grew and not enough to say, “I haven't really been on top of this issue” even stronger. I am now in the fight of my life when 12-year-old Tamir Rice was against my greatest opponent, executed for carrying a toy gun ALS, which is similar to Parkin- in the “open carry” state of Ohio. son's in some ways. I think about Empty gestures are temporary and cause no real changes. Muhammad Ali often. I It's easier to speak highly of I think about his children, esMuhammad Ali than it is to do pecially his “little girl” Laila, in the same vein I think about my what he did. I am proud to say daughter Kiah. I pray that I will that I did what he did, and will be strong like he was until the continue. I am reminded of the end. Ali's strength made me a following quote from Ta-Nebetter person. I have the courage hisi Coates' 2003 article titled of my convictions and the fear- “Compa$$ionate Capitali$m”: less sacrificial mindset of that ‘Romantic afterglow’ man among men. In today's society of “make “Forty years [after his death], money without making waves,” it's easy to quote Malcolm and prominent athletes should learn put him on a postage stamp –

now that we've killed him. Martin Luther King, Jr. was ultimately abandoned by the civil rights establishment for his stand against poverty and war. Today he has a national holiday, and even conservatives have to honor him – now that he's no longer here to shame them. Ditto for the Black Panthers. Everybody says their dad wore a black beret – now that J. Edgar Hoover isn't alive to tap their phones. “Progressive vision almost always lacks mass appeal. While possibly enjoying a bit of rebellious sheen, prophetic insight is decidedly uncool; it involves the sacrifice of family livelihoods, the sullying of reputations, and, at worst, death. Only the afterglow is romantic. Everybody says they would have fought with Nat Turner – now that none of us are slaves.”

first Black person you see and say, “Now we have a Black, so please shut up.” Many Black Republicans are Whiter than their White counterparts, and this is by design. Many Black Republicans have absolutely no connection to the Black community, nor any skillset to put them in a position of advising the party on racial matters. The Republican Party wants Blacks around them who they are “comfortable” with, not Blacks who will speak their mind and who know what the hell they are talking about. You have Black Republicans being pimped by the media to constantly denounce Donald Trump, because they are media whores who are looking for the proverbial pat on the head from “massa.” These same Black Republicans have laryngitis when it comes to the lack of “real” Black staffers, consultants, and advisors within the party.

friends, your denunciations of some of Trump’s comments are legitimate. But where are your voices on other issues that impact the Black community relative to the party? What have you done to get more Black students internships with our congressional members? Have you promoted legislative solutions to address issues of particular concern to Blacks (access to capital for Black entrepreneurs, aid to HBCUs, promotion of school choice, etc.)? And finally, Memo # 3: To my Black Republicans, always remember, when all is said and done, there is more said than done.

Feeling no heat Meanwhile, Clinton and Sanders in particular felt no need to show up in Gary. Mayor Johnny Ford, one of the Gary co-conveners, is a Clinton delegate to the Democratic National Convention and he couldn't persuade her to attend. Sanders has Professor Cornel West, actor Danny Glover and former NAACP President Benjamin Jealous in his corner – yet none of them successfully pressed their candidate to go to Gary. Evidently, when it comes to African-American voters, we are Roger Dangerfield - we get no respect. And we don't demand it. Republicans know that in order to win, they must get a small

There are absolutely no Blacks in positions of power or influence anywhere within the Republican Party. There are none within the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, nor any of the presidential campaigns. Republicans have all White advisors and consultants trying to advise them on racial matters impacting the Black community, Won’t speak up and they can’t understand why There’s no record of these same things keep blowing up in their Blacks speaking about how White faces. Duhhhhh! our upcoming national convention is going to be, and how there The second thing has been little (if any) opportuMemo to Republicans # 2: nities for Black Republicans to Don’t just go out and grab the do business with the upcoming

George E. Curry is president and CEO of George Curry Media, LLC. He is the former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) News Service. Click on Began badly this story at www.flcourier.com But the convention got off to a to write your own response.

convention. Seems like you have more opportunity to do business with the convention if you are a Black Democrat. Go figure. How can you have a White twenty-something writing a speech about civil rights or voting rights for a Republican leader to give? I am not exaggerating. This is actually happening. The party needs a plethora of “real” Blacks who have a connection to the Black community; who understand messaging in terms of communications; who have personal relationships with the media; and understand how to connect all of these into a coherent strategy. The party has virtually no Black surrogates who can push back in the media against all the Black liberals on MSNBC and CNN, so a lie that is repeated enough becomes the truth. So, while many in the party are speaking out against Trump (some of it is well deserved and warranted), I wish these same people would be just as vehement in fighting against the radical liberal agenda that President Obama and Hillary Clinton have been promoting.

James E. Clingman is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for Black people. His latest book, “Black Dollars Matter! Teach Your Dollars How To Make More Sense,” is available on his website, Blackonomics.com. Click on this story at www.flcourier.com to write your own response.

Raynard Jackson is founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered Super PAC established to get more Blacks, especially entrepreneurs, involved in the Republican Party. For more information, visit www.bafbf.org. Click on this story at www.flOther issues courier.com to write your own And to my Black Republican response.

NATION

TOJ A6

JUNE 17 – JUNE 23, 2016

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The faces of officials leading the response to the mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday are, from left, Orlando Police Chief John Mina, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, FBI assistant-agent-in-charge Ron Hopper and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.

Why the Orlando tragedy more likely to divide than unite America’s politicians “It’s the nature of these gun attacks that sparks these real divisive responses.”

BY ANITA KUMAR AND LESLEY CLARK TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

OUR

WASHINGTON – Unlike other recent tragedies in U.S. history, the mass shooting in Orlando is unlikely to bring America politicians together for solutions. The attack touched on a pair of hot-button issues – restricting guns, and the targeting of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans – that is expected to continue to divide an already divided nation in the midst of a contentious election. “As soon as something like this happens … it instantly polarizes people,” said Joseph Young, a professor at the School of Public Affairs at American University who studies political violence.

Democrats’ response Even as television screens were showing lines of people waiting their turn to donate blood for the injured and Sunday’s broadcast of the Tony Awards was dedicated to the victims, partisan fault lines hardened. Both sides reacted predictably Sunday after news broke that a shooter who professed ties to the Islamic State terrorist group killed 50 people at an Orlando nightclub. Democrats called for more restrictions on guns and protections for gays and lesbians. “This massacre is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands

on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school, or in a house of worship, or a movie theater, or in a nightclub,” President Barack Obama said at the White House. “And we have to decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing is a decision as well.” “The American public is beseeching us to act on commonsense, sensible gun violence prevention measures, and we must heed that call,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

Republicans’ stance Republicans mostly focused on terrorism and the need to combat the Islamic State. “Confronting the threat of violent homegrown radicalization is one of the greatest counterterrorism challenges our law enforce-

ment and intelligence community faces,” Sen. Marco Rubio, RFla. said in statement. “We must do more at every level of government and within our own communities to identify and mitigate this cancer on our free society and prevent further loss of innocent life.” But standing in Orlando Sunday, Rubio decried the rampage as an attack on all Americans, including gays and lesbians. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called on Democrats, starting with Obama and the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, to be honest about what needed to be done. “For all the Democrats who are loud champions of the gay and lesbian community whenever there is a culture battle waging, now is the opportunity to speak out against an ideology that calls for the murder of gays and lesbians,” he said.

Called polarizing By late Sunday, it began to appear as if the worst mass shooting in United States history was unlikely to lead to any specific changes. “Instead of good coming out of this it is polarizing an already polarizing electorate during a hyper-polarized election,” said John Hudak, a fellow in governance studies at the left-of-center Brookings Institution. Democrats and Republicans largely put aside their differences in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with members of both parties working with the White House to give then-President George W. Bush the authority to use force against those responsible. “These are different times, and we must act decisively. The American people expect it, and they will accept nothing less,” then Senate Republican leader Trent Lott said at the time. “The world has changed, and we are acting appropriately.”

More divided Americans, too, largely came together after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, though

conservatives criticized Obama for not immediately calling it terrorism. “After 9/11 the US rallied together,” tweeted Ian Bremmer, a political scientist and president and founder of Eurasia Group, a global political risk research and consulting firm. “After Orlando the country feels more politically divided than any time I’ve been alive.” After a shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., left 26 people, including 20 young children, dead in 2012, little changed around gun ownership laws. After that attack – which Obama describes as the worst day of his presidency – he implored Congress to act. But after lawmakers failed to expand background checks, an angry Obama blasted them, calling it “a pretty shameful day for Washington.” Instead, Obama acted unilaterally to force background checks of more gun buyers. Some are promising to push again for changes.

Different tactics Sen. Bob Casey, D-Penn., immediately announced that he would introduce new legislation to ban those convicted of hate crimes from purchasing firearms. Hudak said so far politicians were turning to their “go-to-issues.” But, he said, the only people who could change the conversation in the country are Obama, Clinton and the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, and only if they have an honest discussion about all the issues involved in massacre. The presumptive nominees, however, focused on different tactics: Trump seized on the shooting to call for a more muscular response to Islamic terrorism and asked for Obama to “step down” because he did not use the words “radical Islam” to condemn the attack; Clinton called for more curbs on guns and protections for gays as well as enhanced efforts to fight terrorism.

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HOW TO HELP THE VICTIMS OneOrlando, GoFundMe account set up for those affected by the Pulse tragedy. A OneOrlando fund has been created for people who want to make a donation to help victims of the Pulse nightclub shootings. “The purpose of the fund is to provide a way to help respond to the needs of our community, now and in the time to come,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. The distribution of the funds will be administered by the Central Florida Foundation. The foundation serves as the region’s community foundation and is home to more than 400 charitable funds.

Aid for victims, families According to its website, the fund will support: • Nonprofits that are supporting the victims and families • The LGBTQ, Hispanic, faith and other affected communities • Underlying causes of this tragic event • Other needs we cannot anticipate until we face them The OneOrlando fund is a project of Strengthen Orlando, a nonprofit created for the purpose of supporting and starting projects to strengthen the Orlando community. For more information or to make a donation, visit oneorlando.org.

Assistance center

GoFundMe account

Blood donations

The City of Orlando also has set up an assistance center at Camping World Stadium to help those affected by the Pulse nightclub shooting. The center opened Wednesday to help provide counseling, funeral arrangements, lodging and travel arrangements.

Equality Florida, which advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights, has set up a GoFundMe account. By the Florida Courier’s Wednesday night deadline, the organization had nearly met its $5 million goal. The organization also has information on other agencies and companies that are providing services to victims. Visit www.eqfl.org for more information.

OneBlood, the local blood bank in Orlando, were asking people to wait until later this week to donate because of the overwhelming numbers of people who responded to their first call for blood donations. To find a donation center or Big Red Bus near you, check the list online at www.oneblood.org.

5 1. Students gather around lit candles during a vigil at the University of Central Florida in Orlando on Tuesday honoring the slain victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

2. Marselle Ball gathers with other residents at Jones High School in Orlando for a vigil to remember those killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting.

3. People gather at Center On Halsted in Chicago on Monday to show support for the LGBTQ community and the victims of the gay nightclub shooting in Orlando.

4. The standing-room only crowd at Celebration Community Church sings “We Shall Overcome” at the end of the candlelight vigil at the church in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday.

5. Eric Stevens, an executive at Florida Hospital in Orlando, thanks doctors, nurses and first responders gathered for a brief prayer in the emergency room on Wednesday.

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FOCUS

JUNE 17 – JUNE 23, 2016

STOJ

“These acts can happen anywhere, anytime and to anyone.’’ Deanna Hardy-Joseph

These mothers came from around the country for the event.

A circle of mothers, a circle of support BY DEANNA HARDY-JOSEPH SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

ntil the night of Feb. 7, 2014, I was just an ordinary person shaking my head and raising my eyebrows at the evening news. I had heard of many senseless act of violence and death of school-aged children at school sanctioned events, however, I would have never thought that such would happen in my community and to my loving and caring 14-year-old son who simply attended a school district’s “Student Day” at the Fair with friends in Tampa. And then it did. My beautiful and vibrant son, Andrew Joseph III was stolen from me and our family and many other families’ worldview on “Safety First” at “Student Day” had forever changed. The view had now changed because now the reality of this could happen to me and my child if he or she attended a school dance, school football game or school field trip or perhaps danger would occur when my child would leave home to ride the school bus. In many instances, life has a way of shaking things up in the sentience of a family, and we have all learned too tragically and painfully recognize senseless acts of violence and death of children isn’t haphazard or random. These acts can happen anywhere, anytime and to anyone. But we all should agree that these said acts are “preventable.’’ If we want to protect all our children from violence and senseless tragedies we must take action in our schools and communities before another tragic fatality like Andrew’s happens again.

Deanna Hardy-Joseph reflects on attending the Circle of Mothers Weekend and conference last month in Fort Lauderdale. The event was hosted by the Trayvon Martin Foundation. Hardy-Joseph’s son, Andrew, was killed on Feb. 7, 2014 after he was ejected from the Florida State Fair on Student Day. He died trying to cross Interstate 4. His family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Florida State Fair Authority, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the Hillsborough County School District.

Deanna HardyJoseph, right, speaks with another mom.

Clinton speaks During this experience, I was reminded of the pathway we all must bear to transform pain into purpose. It was a phenomenal weekend to share with others who love deeper since the death of a child and shared moments of heartache and pain for the loss of a child and/or children of varied ages and of varied circumstances, which ultimately resulted in death and this point-of-no return moment. The weekend comprised of many lavish and thoughtful outpours, which included self-help and self-reliance activities from hip-hop aerobics to thoughtprovoking sessions by world renowned motivational speakers and life coaches

Seeking answers Secretary Clinton exposed the fears of parents such as myself and many others who are living in constant fear that their children are going to be hurt and killed due to the perception and fear of another who only sees the color of their skin and not the content of their character,’’ which case in point would be the sentiments of so many deaths of young people in our society today and in past centuries. I often ask the question and ponder on the response of When are the values of life deemed important? When will children be awarded futures and no penal death sentences? And when will care and support be afforded to all and not be subjugated with death of children before change is proposed and/or created to save lives? The weekend was one to reflect on and one to envision a better place and a better time for all our children to be allowed to be children.

Coming to Tampa As I think of my 14-year-old son, Andrew Joseph III, I can’t help but think if “protective systems” were in place how it could have aided his life and his ability to live and navigate another day. I am forever different by this experience and the circumstances which have challenged my life and the people I have encountered by this death of a child experience. I have been pleasured by the meeting of Sybrina Fulton, and her support in helping other mothers like myself with her time and resources are commendable. As we all move forward and empower our community of mothers to move past the pain to purpose, we intend in the near future to host “A Circle of Mothers Empowerment Conference” in Tampa. It will be for mothers who have walked this path of child loss and want to move past the pain and promote a greater purpose in Tampa and surrounding communities.

Unified vision As I accepted the invitation to join Sybrina Fulton/Trayvon Martin Foundation along with 50 other mothers across the United States on the weekend of May 20-22 during the “Circle of Mothers Empowerment Conference” in Fort Lauderdale, I was marveled by this remarkable opportunity, which was gifted to me by a vision that Sybrina Fulton exclaimed as a vision she had after the murder of her son Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. She indicated that this vision occurred and she began to write and pray for guidance with the tragedy that occurred and entered her family’s life. She had the innate need to empower women such as myself who had suffered child loss due to gun violence and other senseless acts of harm and danger. This network formed of individuals, companies and sponsors all sharing a unified vision, which included the elimination of senseless deaths and killings of young people and community members.

mothers have reason to believe that our country doesn’t consider their children as worthy of protection because of the color of their skin.’’

‘A role to play’

Hillary Clinton spoke at the Circle of Mothers Empowerment Confererence. She is flanked by Sybrina Fulton and Deanna Hardy-Joseph.

that refocused our thought process relating to death and loss. We also had the amazing opportunity in meeting, sharing our child’s death experience with keynote speaker Secretary Hillary Rodham. Secretary Clinton expressed words indicative of “providing justice and equality for all children in America re-

gardless of their exploration in community parks, classrooms or everyday engagement with law enforcement.’’ Secretary Clinton was poignant in her expressed views of “ending systemic racism’’ and pointing out the “wrongs in America where so many young people just starting their lives are dying at an alarming rate and so many American

I am now the bearer of a responsibility with the knowledge and experience to make the difference in the safety of children at school-sanctioned events and hold community venues accountable to safety first policies that will protect children as patrons and community benefactors. I don’t have a choice in this matter and my life and my focus has been deterred by the bloodshed of my child. It will never be sufficient to endure a life as usual, an attitude with a carefree existence since innocence has been stolen and a systemic betrayal has occurred. I am engaged and active in changing everyday thinking for families with school aged children. The worldview must change and our protection of our children/students should remain in the forefront of discussions. We all have a role to play in keeping our community and children safe where they live, learn and grow.

Deanna Hardy-Joseph, a Tampa Bay resident, wrote this report exclusively for the Florida Courier. For more information, visit AndrewJosephFoundation.org.

STOJ

JUNE 17 – JUNE 23, 2016

FLORIDA

PHOTOS BY DUANE C. FERNANDEZ SR./HARDNOTTSPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

REMEMBERING

‘THE GREATEST’ Courier photojournalist shares his experience in Louisville during Muhammad Ali’s funeral BY DUANE C. FERNANDEZ SR. FLORIDA COURIER

uhammad Ali was a hero to many people around the world. I remember watching some of his fights on television with my dad as a kid. My friends and I wanted to box just like Ali so we started going do to the community center where the Pal Boxing Gym was located in the basement of the Charter Oak Terrace Housing Project in Hartford, Connecticut. He was gifted and talented as a fighter. He had the ability to predict the round the fight would end in. Ali’s hand speed was the fastest ever seen on a heavy weight fighter to this day. The passing of “The Greatest’’ was a great lost and a sad day for the world.

Fans and vendors I decided to take a road trip from Daytona Beach to Louisville, Kentucky, the birthplace of Muhammad Ali. When I arrived in Louisville on Thursday, June 9, I met Mike Walker, the cousin of my neighbor in Daytona Beach. Mike showed me around the Louisville and all of its crucial locations within the city. The city was overwhelming with memorials and vendors selling T-shirts, hats, flowers, buttons, and just about anything you could put Muhammed Ali’s name on. My first stop was the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, which would be the site of his funeral the next day. There were fans and people visiting the huge memorial in the center of the courtyard.

Cherished and honored People had come from around the world to pay respect to “The Greatest.’’ There were signed boxing gloves, pictures, Wheaties cereal boxes bearing Muhammad Ali’s image signed and placed as part of the memorial. I was able to photograph one of his daughters, Rasheda, taking pictures with fans at this site. I also

spotted actor Leon Isaac Kennedy taking photographs with fans. After leaving the KFC Yum! Center, I was able to follow the same route Muhammad Ali’s funeral procession would travel the next day. Along the route, I spoke with several people about their experiences while growing up in Louisville with the champ. The responses I received from these people were positive. Everyone cherished and honored him. He was called a very humble man who spoke with respect for everyone he met. Many of the people I spoke with had claimed Muhammad Ali as their hero and an inspiration to themselves and their community.

Fond memories On Friday morning, I journeyed from my hotel to the KFC YUM! Center to pick up my press pass for the memorial to be held later that day. Briefly stopping at McDonald’s for breakfast, I met Albert Bell, who was born and raised in Louisville. He stated that he’s friends with Ali’s brother, Rudy. Bell spoke of the Ali family and his great respect for the two brothers. He had spoken with the champ on several occasions, he said. Rudy and Ali loved to talk, he noted, adding that they

were “humble people who treated everyone the same, whether you were rich or poor. It didn’t matter to them.’’ After receiving my credentials, I made my way uptown to Muhammad Ali’s boyhood home on Grand Avenue so that I could photograph the reaction of the community as the funeral procession passed by.

Cheers and tears As I arrived at Grand Avenue, I could see police everywhere along with the media and vendors. The people were lined up along both sides of this narrow street. There was even a guy dressed as a cowboy with a horse that had an Ali towel spread across the back of the horse. Everyone had cameras, and video camcorders. The fans had come out by the thousands to say goodbye to Muhammad Ali. As the funeral procession and hearst turned onto Grand Avenue, the crowd went wild. They were chanting “Ali, Ali, Champ” and “Ali is the Greatest.’’ Some people were crying and some even chased the hearst as it went by. I will never forget this experience to Louisville for the funeral of one of my boyhood heroes. He’s gone but will never be forgotten.

NATION & WORLD

JUNE 17 – JUNE 23, 2016

STOJ

Church gunman must have jury trial the trial will be conducted by jury, and, should Defendant be found guilty of one or more capital crimes, the sentencing hearing will be conducted before a jury,” the judge said in his decision.

November start Jury selection in the case is set to begin Nov. 7 with lawyers for both sides posing questions about impartiality to hundreds of potential jurors. Opening arguments will be after a jury of 12 people and six alternates is selected, likely later in November. Roof, 22, of Columbia, an avowed White supremacist, is accused of federal hate crimes in last June’s slayings of nine African-Americans and the wounding of three others during a Bible study gathering at Charleston’s AME Emanuel Church. Two high-profile federal death penalty in recent years have both involved juries. In 1997, a federal jury in Denver recommended a death sentence for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. He was executed in 2001. In 2015, a Massachusetts jury recommended a death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He is appealing his conviction and sentence. TODD SUMLIN/CHARLOTTE OBSERVER/TNS

Charleston shooting suspect Dylann Roof is escorted from the Shelby Police Department on June 18 in Shelby, N.C.

Jury selection in the case is set to begin Nov. 7 with lawyers for both sides posing questions about impartiality to hundreds of potential jurors.

BY JOHN MONK THE STATE/TNS

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Accused Charleston church gunman Dylann Roof will not get a federal death penalty trial decided solely by a judge. U.S. Judge Richard Gergel ruled Monday that Roof, an avowed White supremacist charged with killing nine African-Americans a year ago at a downtown Charles-

ton church, must have a jury trial. Last week, Roof and his lawyers told Gergel that he wanted to waive his right to a jury trial. The trial is expected to begin in November.

Judge explains Federal prosecutors must agree to that request but made it clear in a filing Monday they will not do so.

French prosecutor: Police assailant posted video during knife attack BY JESSICA CAMILLE AQUIRRE DPA/TNS

PARIS – A man suspected of killing two French police employees posted a 12-minute Facebook video and two tweets as he carried out the attack in the name of extremist group Islamic State, a prosecutor said. The suspected attacker knifed the police commander outside his home before killing his 36-yearold companion – a police administrator –inside, prosecutor Francois Molins said during a press conference Tuesday. The couple’s 3-year-old son survived and was taken to hospital in a state of shock.

ISIS allegiance Molins said the man, named as Larossi Abballa, claimed while he spoke with police forces to have

pledged allegiance to the Islamic State three weeks prior. He said he had responded to a call by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi to kill infidels at home with their families, Molins said. Molins said Abballa, who was killed by French special police forces more than three hours after the standoff began, claimed to know that his victim was a police officer. The attack took place at the couple’s home, in a residential neighborhood about 30 miles west of Paris. It began shortly after 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Monday evening, Molins said, and ended when the special forces stormed Abballa’s location around midnight.

More targets Abballa also had a list of additional targets that in-

cluded public figures, Molins said. The prosecutor added that three more people have been taken into custody since the incident. French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting early Tuesday morning, after which he said the attack was “an act of incontestable terrorism.” He added that the threat level was raised in France and beyond. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said after the meeting that the threat of terrorism was “elevated in France, elevated in Europe and elevated in the West, as we have seen with the events that took place 48 hours ago in the U.S.” On Sunday, the lone gunman who killed 49 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando pledged allegiance to Islamic State in an emergency call while the attack was underway.

Robins & Morton is currently seeking bids for the West Marion Community Hospital construction project from qualified Ocala, Florida and surrounding area Subcontractors and Suppliers interested in bid opportunities associated with the upcoming project. The project will consist of a first floor emergency department expansion, surgery addition, and pre-op/ PACU renovation. The project also includes a bed tower addition consisting of 48 new med/surg beds on the 4th floor and a shelled 5thfloor. The central plant will also be expanded to accommodate the additional loads. Total project BGSF is approximately 93,573 sf. Bid packages associated with the project include the following: Site work • Landscaping • Concrete • Masonry • Structural Steel • General Trades • EIFS • Roofing • Fireproofing •Firestopping • Caulking & Waterproofing • Doors & Frames Material• Glass & Glazing• Drywall & ACT • Hard Tile• Resilient and Carpet Flooring• Paint & Wall Coverings• Signage• Miscellaneous Specialties• Casework & Millwork• Elevators• Pneumatic Tube• Fire Protection• Test & Balancing• L/V Structured Cabling **** Bid Date: July 21, 2016 on or before 4:00 p.m. EST **** Robins & Morton and HCA are strongly committed to the development and implementation of initiatives which promote the inclusion of local, minority and women-owned businesses. We believe we must work in a way that ensures that business relationships work profitably for both diversity businesses and the corporation. If your company is interested in working on the aforementioned project, please contact the person below for additional information concerning the bid packages, bid documents and other project information. Drew Duffy, Senior Estimator at (615) 377-3666; Email: dduffy@robinsmorton.com

“The Government advises the Court that it does not consent and, instead, respectfully requests that a jury determine the Defendant’s guilt and appropriate punishment.” assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson wrote. That objection means Roof’s request won’t be granted, Gergel said. “Because the Government does not consent to the waiver of a jury at either proceeding,

1,500 jury pool Last year’s massacre of African-Americans in downtown Charleston has similarly captured the nation’s attention. Because of the notoriety of the case, Gergel has suggested that a jury pool of up to 1,500 jurors may be necessary. Roof is also scheduled to be tried in state court. He also faces the death penalty in that trial, set to begin in late January. The State is based in Columbia, South Carolina.

More than 1,650 homicides so far this year in Chicago TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

CHICAGO – Forty-four people were shot in Chicago last weekend, seven of them fatally, bringing the total number of gun violence victims in the city this year to more than 1,650. At least 282 of them died of their wounds, nearly 100 more than the year before, according to data kept by the Chicago Tribune. The deadliest stretch of the weekend was between 6 p.m. Saturday and 5:25 a.m. Sunday, when three people were killed and at least 17 others were wounded, according to police.

Child among wounded A 17-year-old boy was killed in Back of the Yards around 10:20 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, and two men were slain around 1 a.m. Sunday on the front steps of a home in the Brainerd neighborhood. One of the men was in town from Wisconsin to attend the funeral of a friend who was shot to death earlier, according to a family member.

Three more men were killed and at least 13 people, including a 5-year-old girl, were hurt in shootings between Friday evening and Saturday morning, according to police. A stray bullet hit the 5-year-old in the foot while she was in front of a home with a 34-year-old woman in Marquette Park around 8:10 p.m. Friday.

Dad of 3 killed A 26-year-old man was shot to death around 8:45 p.m. Friday and, less than an hour later, a 27-year-old man was killed, police said. An 18-year-old Hazel Crest man was shot dead in West Chatham at 1:30 a.m. Saturday. From Sunday morning to early Monday, a man was killed and seven others were wounded. The 32-yearold man, a father of three, was discovered shot to death around 8:35 a.m. Sunday in the driver’s seat of a BMW in the Englewood neighborhood.

STOJ

JUNE 17 – JUNE 23, 2016

FINEST & ENTERTAINMENT

Meet some of

FLORIDA’S

finest

submitted for your approval

Daveed Diggs won a Tony Award on Sunday for Best Featured Actor In A Musical for his role in “Hamilton.’’ It was one of 11 total wins for the Broadway musical. All four musical-acting Tony winners were black for the first time. Along with Diggs, others were Leslie Odom Jr. for lead actor and Renee Elise Goldsberry for featured actress in “Hamilton.’’

Think you’re one of Florida’s Finest? E-mail your high-resolution (200 dpi) digital photo in casual wear or bathing suit taken in front of a plain background with few distractions, to news@flcourier. com with a short biography of yourself and your contact information. (No nude/ glamour/ fashion photography, please!) In order to be considered, you must be at least 18 years of age. Acceptance of the photographs submitted is in the sole and absolute discretion of Florida Courier editors. We reserve the right to retain your photograph even if it is not published. If you are selected, you will be contacted by e-mail and further instructions will be given.

Cynthia Erivo won the leading actress in a musical for her role as Celie in “The Color Purple’’ at Sunday’s Tony Awards. NANCY RIVERA/ACE PICTURES/ZUMA PRESS/TNS

BERES HAMMOND

Catch the reggae artist at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg on July 21, Hard Rock Live Orlando on July 22, or the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on July 23 in Fort Lauderdale.

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SHIRLEY MURDOCK MAXWELL

The R&B crooner will perform Aug. 4 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater.

FLORIDA COMMUNITY CALENDAR Orlando: The Central Florida Pharmacy Council’s Black Men’s Health Summit on June 18 will feature actor Clifton Davis as its keynote speaker. The free expo is from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Orange County Convention Center. Register at www.blackmenshealthsummit.com. Miami Gardens: Mayor Oliver Gilbert is sponsoring a hands-on CPR training on

The gospel and R&B vocalist is scheduled at The Salem Centre in Jacksonville on July 30 and the Palladium Theatre on July 31 in St. Petersburg.

June 18 at the Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex, 3000 NW 199th St. Times: 10:30 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. St. Petersburg: B.o.B. is scheduled June 24 at State Theatre and June 25 at Hangar 305 in Miami. Hollywood: Comedian Hannibal Buress performs July 22 at Hard Rock Live. Jacksonville: Justin Bieber’s World Tour is scheduled to make a stop at the Veterans Memorial Arena on June 29 and Amway Center on June 30.

Miami: Joe and Avant will perform July 1 at the James L. Knight Center. Pont Vedra Beach: The Robert Cray Band performs July 8 at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall. Jacksonville: Catch Jeezy and friends July 9 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. Jacksonville: Miles Jaye performs July 16 at the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts.

FOOD

JUNE 17 – JUNE 23, 2016

TOJ

A smokin’ celebration FROM FAMILY FEATURES

If the surge in barbecue and smoking competitions across the country is any indication, grilling has become an art form. This Father’s Day, grab dad and gather around the grill or try a new tech nique that’s rising in popularity – smok ing – to create a masterpiece meal – and plenty of memories – together. From secret marinades to tricked out grills and smokers, competitive smokers know there is a near ritualistic approach to teasing the perfect flavor out of a pre mium cut of meat. Follow in the foot steps of those pit masters and smoke like a pro with these tips from Omaha Steaks Executive Chef Karl Marsh.

Rinse brisket with vinegar, then water.

Start with style The first step is deciding how you’d like to prepare your meat. Consider stepping up your game by smoking your meat. Smoking is a popular choice be cause it infuses flavor throughout the meat, while extended cook times at low temperatures make it extra tender. An other advantage is the chance to create a wide range of unique flavors using wet and dry rubs, as well as seasoned wood chips and planks.

Choose your cut Virtually any meat can be smoked, but the most popular cuts of meat to smoke are brisket, ribs, pork shoulder or turkey, all of which are typically large in size. Guarantee a great experience with Oma ha Steaks Brisket for smoking or Whole Pork Butt, which were created with the competitive barbecue and smoking cir cuit in mind.

Dry meat and prepare rub.

Ready your rub Rubs are often used to add flavors and surface texture to a cut of meat. For best results, brush meat with cooking oil or another liquid ingredient (such as yellow mustard) before adding the rub. Spread the rub on a clean plate and place the meat on it. Coat both sides with the rub by gently pressing the meat on the plate.

Set up the smoker Some pit masters consider their equipment as vital an ingredient as the meat or flavorings they choose. Prepara tion varies from one recipe to the next, but one constant is the importance of maintaining a steady temperature. As you prepare your charcoal, be conscious of where you’ll place any wood chips or other flavor enhancers for maximum impact.

Coat meat generously with rub.

Slow and steady Sensational flavor takes time to build, so plan to dedicate several hours to your task. Often, smoked foods require foil wrapping for at least a portion of the cook to retain moisture. Plan to check in at regular intervals to restock wood chips, flip or rotate meat and apply a fresh coat of seasoning or spices. Find more tips and recipes perfect for a smoking Father’s Day celebration at omahasteaks.com.

Inject brisket with marinade.

ANCHO CHILE RUBBED SMOKED BEEF BRISKET Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 11-13 hours Rest time: 1-2 hours Total time: 13-16 hours 1 Whole Omaha Steaks Brisket for smoking 2 cups white vinegar 2/3 cup yellow mustard 3/4 cup Omaha Steaks Ancho Chile Rub 4 cups Ancho Chile Smoking Spritzer, divided (recipe below) 8 cups apple or cherry wood chips, soaked in water Remove brisket from bag and rinse with white vinegar then rinse with water. Dry completely using paper towels. Slather brisket generously with yellow mustard. Rub generously with ancho chile rub and inject with 1 cup Ancho Chile Smoking Spritzer. Prepare smoker using 1 chimney of pure lump charcoal fully lit and one chimney of pure lump charcoal unlit. Make sure water pan is full and adjust vents until smoker maintains a temperature between 225 and 250 F. Place brisket on smoker fat side up and brush smoking spritzer over top. Every hour, check smoker temp, squirt with smoking spritzer and add handful of wood chips. After 3 hours, flip brisket fat side down and squirt with spritzer. After 6 hours, flip brisket fat side up. Wrap heavy duty foil around the last 3-4 inches of brisket tip to prevent it from drying out. Restock water pan and add lump charcoal as needed. Adjust vents until temperature is between 225 and 250 F. Beginning at 8 hours, check internal temperature every hour and apply spritzer and wood chips as needed. Between 11-13 hours, when internal temperature is between 195 and 200 F, if fork slides easily into brisket, it is done. Let brisket rest for 1-2 hours before slicing and serving. ANCHO CHILE RUBBED SMOKED PORK BUTT Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 8-10 hours Rest time: 1 hour Total time: 10-12 hours 1 Omaha Steaks Whole Pork Butt 2 cups white vinegar 1/2 cup yellow mustard 1/2 cup Omaha Steaks Ancho Chile Rub 4 cups Ancho Chile Smoking Spritzer, divided (recipe below) 8 cups apple or cherry wood chips, soaked in water Score top fat so it will melt into pork while smoking and allow more rub to get into meat. Rub pork with white vinegar then rinse with water. Pat dry with clean paper towels. Rub pork butt with yellow mustard. Rub pork butt with ancho chile rub. Inject pork with 10-12 ounces of Ancho Chile Smoking Spritzer. Set up smoker with 1 chimney using unlit lump charcoal and 2 chimneys using lit lump charcoal. Adjust vents in smoker until temperature settles between 225 and 250 F. Place pork butt fat side up and add a lot of wood chips. Every half hour, add more wood chips and spritz pork with smoking spritzer. After 2 hours, insert remote thermometer probes. Be careful not to let thermometer touch bone to prevent false readings. After 5 hours, place pork in foil pan and liberally coat with spritzer. Wrap pan tightly with foil. Continue cooking without adding wood chips or opening smoker until thermometer hits 190 F (for sliced meat) or 200 F (for pulled meat), about 8-10 hours total. Let rest 1 hour before serving. ANCHO CHILE SMOKING SPRITZER Makes: 4 cups 2 cups apple juice 1 cup cranberry juice 1 cup canola oil 2 tablespoons red hot pepper sauce 1/2 cup Omaha Steaks Ancho Chile Rub Combine all ingredients and mix well.