Robert Osborne, why did you leave us when we need you most? The death this week of the Turner Classic Movies host only highlights, as political developments spiral from the unexpected to the unbelievable, that film may be the best outlet for explanation and escape.
Turmoil in the Trump Administration
CHARLOTTE, NC– Michael Flynn is out as National Security Adviser in the Trump administration. Investigation reveals that a number of other top Trump aides also had constant contact with Russia during the campaign. What was the motive behind the conversations? What are the next steps for the Trump administration? WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis is weighs in.
Feb152017
GOP Seeks a Safe Space From the Words of Coretta Scott King
For a party and an administration that ran on being tough guys, afraid of nothing and no one, and disdainful of “PC culture,” whatever that’s supposed to mean, Republicans are, like President Donald Trump, proving to be poster boys (and, yes, the crew is testosterone-heavy) for the perpetually offended, perfect pictures of bullies who crumble when one of their targets dares talk back. – See more at: http://www.rollcall.com/news/opinion/gop-seeks-safe-space-words-coretta-scott-king#sthash.JZ7IqwAt.dpuf
Feb092017
Black History Month Lessons for ‘Trump World’
Every year, when February rolls around, you hear the same questions: Why do we need a Black History Month? When is White History Month? (The answer to that second question is January through December, by the way.)
For the answer to the first, look no further than the movie that just picked up the top award from the Screen Actors Guild. “Hidden Figures” is about the African-American female mathematicians who helped propel the U.S. space program, and who were mostly left out of the history books and previous film accounts of NASA and the talents who made it soar. (John Glenn wouldn’t leave home without their trajectory equations.)
When people of color and women play more than token roles in the telling of this nation’s history, there will no longer be a need to remedy omissions with a designated month here and there.
In 2017, we are far from that moment.
Feb022017
Will Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch, run into Senate roadblocks?
CHARLOTTE, NC — The White House is paving the way for Constitutional Conservative Neil Gorsuch to fill the open spot on the nation’s highest court. Right now, it doesn’t seem like Democrats will put up much of a fight over his Supreme Court nomination. WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in.
Feb012017
“Charlotte Talks”: Friday News Round Up
This week, the Charlotte City Council and County Commission both considered spending on a Major League Soccer stadium- with very different results. Former Governor Pat McCrory is heckled in Washington D.C. and South Carolina’s Nikki Haley is headed to New York. Host Mike Collins and our panel of reporters tackle those stories and more on the Charlotte Talks local news round up.
Jan272017
Common Ground in the Trump Era Is Doubtful
The parallels aren’t perfect, but close enough to see and hear hypocrisy from all sides.
Observing some of the more dismissive reactions against last weekend’s women’s marches that exceeded expectations in Washington, across the country and around the world, you would think that gathering for a cause and against an American president was somehow unpatriotic.
New President Donald Trump’s initial statement that he was “under the impression that we just had an election” eventually gave way to a defense of a constitutional right to protest, though his senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said, “I frankly didn’t see the point.”
Various Republican elected officials around the country mocked protesters before offering half-hearted apologies. In North Carolina, GOP state Sen. Joyce Krawiec tweeted: “Message to crazies @ Women’s March — If brains were lard, you couldn’t grease a small skillet. You know who you are.” She won her seat without opposition in November, so she probably felt pretty safe.
Déjà vu
I had a flashback to a revved-up crowd at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, where I was covering what was called the first national tea party convention in early February 2010. Participants who came to rail against health care and other policies of then-President Barack Obama claimed patriotism as their motivation for righteous dissent.
Jan262017
President Trump’s Wall Plan. How Will It Work?
CHARLOTTE, NC — President Donald Trump plans to sign several executive orders today, including one to build a wall on the border with Mexico. Other orders are expected to eliminate sanctuary cities, cutting down on the number of refuges coming in to the United States. WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in.
Jan252017
Message from Charlotte: Revolution Starts at Home
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In this very blue city, in a state that went red for Donald Trump while sending a Democratic governor to the statehouse, a crowd estimated at more than 10,000 filled the streets at Saturday’s Women’s March. It was one of many across the country, sending a message that the story of Election 2016, far from being over, is just beginning.
The winding route took marchers — more than double in number than expected — past signposts of a region that has seen its share of divisions, but has made steady if shaky progress.
Jan222017
