Archives for August 2018

Trump to the Rescue (Maybe) in North Carolina

OPINION — When Donald Trump travels to North Carolina this week, it won’t be for one of the campaign-style rallies that are his oxygen — especially needed now when the air is filled with praise for his nemesis John McCain, who is being lauded in death in terms the president can only dream about.

This Friday in Charlotte, host of the 2020 GOP convention and with the Trump National Golf Club not that far away in Mooresville, the president is scheduled to make a lunchtime appearance at a country club for an audience of those willing and able to pay at least $1,000 ($25,000 will get you admission to a “roundtable” and a photograph with Trump). It is a party with a purpose: to raise enough cash to keep two possibly vulnerable House seats in Republicans hands.

Saying Goodbye to Political and Cultural Icons

Though at first glance they might not seem to have much in common, the legacies of John McCain and Aretha Franklin intersect in some surprising ways. This week, the world and their own communities offer final farewells to two icons who affected our culture and politics.

Whether Church or State, Powerful Men Are Letting Us Down

OPINION — It is not a good time for those who want to believe — in their faith or in their government. No one expects any institution to be perfect, particularly those that are large and complicated. But why do so many have to be perfectly corrupt, spurring cynicism in those once so willing to give the benefit of the doubt?

Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort, and What’s Next?

CHARLOTTE. NC — On Tuesday, former Trump lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight charges in federal court in New York, including campaign finance violations for payoffs to influence the 2016 election on behalf of a candidate – not identified, though widely assumed to be Donald Trump. Meanwhile, in a Virginia courtroom, Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was found guilty on eight of 18 counts: five counts of filing false tax returns, one count of not filing a report on a foreign bank account and two bank fraud counts.

When Spike Lee’s Art Is More Real Than a White House Reality Show

OPINION — It was deliberate and fitting that “BlacKkKlansman” opened a year after the deadly march of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. It is not too much of a spoiler to say that director Spike Lee goes there in the telling of the improbable true story of an African-American police officer who, in the late 1970s, infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in Colorado.

The film brings the lessons of the not-so-tall tale up to the present, to this 2018 moment. That includes an appearance from a youthful David Duke, who still appears whenever and wherever racial hate rises up.

In a parallel universe that purports to be real life but more closely resembles a twisted fantasy, Donald Trump managed one weak tea of a tweet marking the anniversary of the march, with a message that condemned “all types of racism,” pushing false equivalency and failing yet again to acknowledge the seriousness of neo-Nazi and Klan sentiment and action that caused the death of Heather Heyer.

Omarosa vs. Trump: Reality-Show Drama Meets Politics

CHARLOTTE, NC — In a move that seems like a plot twist in a reality show, Omarosa Manigault Newman, the former and fired top aide to Donald Trump is not going quietly. She has a new book, “Unhinged,” which asserts that the president is unfit. And she has tapes. The president has gone on the attack, with tweets and insults. And now there is a lawsuit over a non-disclosure agreement she signed when she worked for the campaign.

Charlotte Talks Local News Roundup: Teachers Struggle to Pass Licensing Exams; Panthers vs. Bills

On this edition of the local news roundup…

The start of the CMS school year is only a couple of weeks away, and there are hundreds of teacher vacancies in the system that need to be filled. That’s happening at the same time that many elementary teachers are failing to pass their licensing exams. Think you could pass the exam?

The apologies continue from Wells Fargo, who is now acknowledging an error that led hundreds of customers to foreclosure on their homes. We’ll give you the latest.

A judge has declined to rule on lawsuits regarding constitutional amendment questions appearing on ballots this fall in North Carolina- that’s as the deadline to finalize those ballots looms. Our reporters explain.

And the Panthers play Buffalo in pre-season football Thursday night. How do the Catslook?

Mike Collins will bring you those topics and more, along with our roundtable of reporters on the Charlotte Talks Local News Roundup.

Guests:

Alexandra OlginWFAE Reporter

Ann Doss Helms, reporter for the Charlotte Observer

Shawn Flynn, Managing Editor for Spectrum News 

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com and WCCB

Trump’s Culture War Is Entering Its Scorched-Earth Phase

OPINION — President Donald Trump is crediting his raucous Ohio rally for propelling Troy Balderson over Democratic challenger Danny O’Connor in a U.S. congressional special election that is officially still too close to call. But what if his fiery rhetoric and the image of a sea of angry faces, attacks on the media and signs supporting the murky QAnon conspiracy actually derailed what should have been an easy Republican victory?

What does an Ohio special election say about the November midterm elections?

In an Ohio congressional district that has sent Republicans to Washington for decades, the special election race on Tuesday is currently too close to call, with Republican Troy Balderson leading Democrat Danny O’Connor by less than one percentage point. What does it mean for chances of a November blue or red wave? Did President Trump’s weekend rally there help Balderson? What about suburban GOP women? What about turnout? Will Democrats re-think Nancy Pelosi as speaker, and will that to help their chances?

More questions, as the two Ohio candidates will meet again in November.

How Foreign Influence on Social Media Affects Elections

CHARLOTTE, NC — Facebook said this week that it has detected and removed 32 pages and fake accounts that it identified – built to sow divisions in the U.S. and potentially disrupt the midterm elections. Earlier, Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri announced thwarted attempts to break into her office’s accounts.

The tactics are similar to those our intelligence agencies say have been used by Russia to influence elections in the U.S. and other countries.

Wednesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee has scheduled an open meeting to examine how foreign intelligence agencies conduct influence campaigns in the U.S. through various social media platforms.