The 2014 midterm election is already shaping up as a litmus test for the political state of the state. With voters angry at different faction for different reasons, politicians from both parties calibrate their messages with care.
American Catholics — in public and in transition
Ever notice how restaurants feature all manner of fish specials during Lent, even at fast-food spots known for burgers and chicken? It’s not just for health reasons. The Lenten season focuses curiosity and scrutiny on a faith that fascinates, even if you know it only from headlines — from sex-abuse scandals to a pope with rock-star status. The influence of one faith that claims 75 million followers in America seems most evident in a solemn season that began this week with Ash Wednesday, when those who span the spectrum of Roman Catholic devotion return to tradition to spend the day wearing a visible manifestation of religious belief.
But that nod to tradition belies a group of believers in transition. A Pew research study released Thursday shows that like many other institutions, questions about the church’s direction run deep. (The survey of 1,821 adults included 351 Catholics.) Would it be any other way in an American society that is changing?
Mar072014
LGBT equality is an ‘American value’ — the theme of HRC North Carolina gala
CHARLOTTE – The scene looked like any formal event, from prom and beyond, with couples patiently waiting in line, ready to take a turn posing and smiling in front of a backdrop and getting that photo snapped to show they were there. On Saturday, that event was the Human Rights Campaign 2014 North Carolina Gala, and the more than 1,000 in attendance wanted to show they were there, supporting LGBT equality.
The star-studded crowd was a mix of politicians, celebrities — in the case of congressional hopeful Clay Aiken, a bit of both — visitors from across the country, many with North Carolina connections, and citizens of a Southern state that illustrates progress and challenges when it comes to working toward HRC goals.
The theme was how those goals reflect North Carolina and American values, as speaker after speaker emphasized.
Feb242014
No justice for Jordan Davis, more worry for parents of black children
Lucia McBath said she would pray for Michael Dunn and continue to wait for justice. She stood at the microphone, reacting to the news that a jury had deadlocked on the charge of first degree murder of her son, Jordan Davis, who would have celebrated his 19th birthday on Sunday. She was distraught and destroyed, but more composed than I could ever be.
When it was his turn, Jordan’s father, Ronald Davis, said it wasn’t in his nature to be stoic, but that his calmness through anger and grief honored the memory of his son. Then he reminded everyone that the son who was killed when Dunn shot into a car full of teenagers returning from the mall was a good kid. That he had to say out loud that Jordan Davis’s life mattered to a country that seems as undecided of that fact as the jury was also a crime.
Feb172014
Shirley Temple, an optimistic icon who knew it was an illusion
Some things are best left to memory.
When I think of Shirley Temple – the child star, not the adolescent actress or grown-up American diplomat – she is always petite, dimpled and smiling. Hearing of her death Monday night at the age of 85, it was hard to imagine her as anything else.
Feb112014
Rand Paul’s Bill Clinton-bashing is political. But he has a point.
Rand Paul, the U.S. senator from Kentucky and an all-but-certain contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, is hitting Democratic Party claims to be the party for women with attacks on Bill Clinton’s infidelity with an intern in the White House.
Is it a political maneuver to tarnish top rival Hillary Clinton with guilt by association? Of course. Is Paul taking aim at a popular Democratic Party fundraiser, just as the former president is about to campaign for 2014 candidates, including Alison Lundergan Grimes, who is challenging Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Paul’s own state of Kentucky? You bet.
Feb102014
Clay Aiken is officially a candidate. And he thought ‘American Idol’ was rough
“I’m not a politician,” says Clay Aiken in the video announcing his candidacy for a U.S. House seat. “I don’t ever want to be one. But I do want to help bring back, at least to my corner of North Carolina, the idea that someone can go to Washington to represent all the people, whether they voted for you or not.”
What is very clear in the compelling, nearly five-minute video released Wednesday, is that Aiken seriously wants to be the Democrat on the fall ballot facing Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers in North Carolina’s 2nd District. And though an Aiken win in the conservative district has to be considered a long shot, and he hasn’t even made it past the primary, the 35-year-old reintroducing himself and making his case wants you to know that he’s more than an “American Idol” runner-up.
Feb052014
Why Amy Chua’s book on the exceptional gets civil rights all wrong
Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld know a lot about at least one thing. That would be marketing. Their new book, “The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America,” arrives Feb. 4 amid a swirl of controversy and publicity, and from the rather self-satisfied look on their faces in the twin New York Times portraits that accompany a recent profile, they couldn’t be happier.
Chua skillfully traded in stereotypes with the “Tiger Mom” opus that publicized her strict parenting practices laced with a smattering of self doubt and made her a household name. Now she and husband Rubenfeld – both Yale law professors – are coming back with more, much more of the same. I’m not mad at them, though the couple’s scholarship and language, with countless anecdotes and caveats, sound more self-help than Ivy League. I’m writing about them, too, because the scene they’ve created is impossible to ignore. Who could miss excerpts of “The Triple Package” and stories by and about the couple? I read about as much as I could.
Feb042014
Grand jury decides not to indict officer in N.C. shooting, but questions remain
CHARLOTTE – It’s a situation that won’t end quickly or easily. In a case that has drawn national attention, a Mecklenburg County grand jury did not indict a police officer on Tuesday on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of an unarmed man.
Jan222014
