Archives for March 2017

Opinion: Not So Fast, Democrats. You Had a Good Day, but Now What?

Featured at Roll Call

As the Republican Party has learned, it’s much easier to be the party of “no” than to actually have a plan to lead. So while Democrats are celebrating a GOP in disarray, the party out of power needs a message and a plan.

Understandably, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosicelebrated as the GOP’s new-and-improved health care plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act failed. But long term, she must truly want to experience a return to the speaker’s post. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer knows just how to rile Donald Trump, his fellow New Yorker. But he still has to call Trump Mr. President.

So what happens the morning after the party, when all that remains are empty champagne bottles and a headache? f

Read the rest atRoll Call
Mar302017 TAGS: , , , , ,

NCAA Deadline Looms, Confusion Over HB2 Repeal Efforts

Featured at WCCB Rising

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Another effort to craft legislation to get rid of North Carolina’s “bathroom’s bill” and halt more economic losses appears gone as Republicans and Democrats point fingers over whether an agreement ever existed. The GOP-controlled legislature and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper have been trying to find a way to repeal House Bill 2 before the NCAA decides to leave the state out of hosting championship events through 2022. The NCAA had mentioned a deadline this week. House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger said Tuesday evening that they had agreed to a plan from Cooper’s office that would repeal HB2 but include other provisions. Berger said Cooper backed out of that plan. The House Democratic leader said later there had been no formal offer and called the Republican leaders’ news conference a stunt because the GOP lacks the votes to pass a bill.

WCCB Political Contributor, Mary C. Curtis, weighs in.

Read the rest atWCCB Rising
Mar292017 TAGS: , , , , , , ,

The Heat: Previewing Donald Trump’s First 100 days

Featured at CGTN

New legislation is a crucial part of any president’s first 100 days. It’s not been easy for Donald Trump.

A divided Republican party is trying to recover from a failed healthcare bill; Democrats have delayed a vote on Trump’s Supreme Court Justice nominee and leaders are vowing to block a $12 billion request to fund a Mexican border wall.

The administration is now turning its  attention to the energy sector  and providing middle class tax relief. Trump’s popularity is taking a hit, and the question is  “Can any legislation be passed to salvage the president’s image during the crucial first 100 days?”

Read the rest atCGTN
Mar282017 TAGS:

Opinion: Art as Soul Food – A Tough Yet Essential Case to Make

Featured at Roll Call

… when most people think arts and humanities, it usually conjures something a little snooty, out of reach and not at all essential. Cue video of the Broadway “Hamilton” cast, with the approval of audience members who have paid hundreds of dollars for a ticket, lecturing Vice President Mike Pence, and it certainly confirms a stereotype.

Truly, though, as someone who has sat in those orchestra seats — and that’s a show that needs no help surviving — the road there was paved with more than a few federal dollars.

 

Read the rest atRoll Call
Mar232017 TAGS: , , , ,

Rex Tillerson’s Plan to Skip NATO, Visit Russia Puts Allies on Edge

Featured at WCCB Rising

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The State Department scrambled Tuesday to suggest new dates for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers after his plan to skip the annual gathering, but travel to Russia came to light. Tillerson’s decision to miss his first NATO meeting but visit Russia a week later plunged his department into damage control, frustrated allies and left analysts scratching their heads at an administration that once again is rubbing Europe the wrong way and raising questions about its commitment to its Western allies. WCCB’s Political Contributor Mary Curtis weighs in.

Read the rest atWCCB Rising
Mar222017 TAGS: , , ,

The GOP and White Evangelicals: A Forever Match?

Featured at Roll Call

Will a health care proposal that could toss “the least of these” off its rolls cause divisions between evangelicals uncomfortable with a close relationship with the Republican Party and those who feel just fine with the political association?

A shared anti-abortion stance, with the promise to appoint like-minded judges, has so far helped to keep the link between evangelicals and the GOP strong. But strains — along policy, generational, and racial lines — are showing within conservative faith groups, despite agreement on core beliefs.

 

Read the rest atRoll Call
Mar162017 TAGS: , , , ,

President Trump’s Revised Travel Ban to Take Effect

Featured at WCCB Rising

President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban is scheduled to take effect tomorrow. Today, his executive action will be scrutinized in federal courtrooms across the country. In Maryland, a federal judge will hear arguments from the ACLU and others who want to stop the new directive. Hawaii’s lawsuit is heading to a U.S. court in Honolulu, while Washington state wants its own hearing before a federal judge in Seattle. Questions remain… What’s next? Why are states still suing? WCCB’s Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in.

 

Read the rest atWCCB Rising
Mar152017 TAGS: ,

The Heat: Journalist round table talks Wikileaks, THAAD, travel ban

Featured at CGTN

China’s Two Sessions continue as the U.S. begins to install the controversial THAAD missile defense system in South Korea. Meanwhile, international outcry as WikiLeaks reveals CIA secrets and Trump’s travel ban makes its second appearance.

All these stories and more on The Heat’s weekly roundtable with a panel of journalists:

    • Qinduo Xu, political analyst for China Radio International
    • Nathan King, CGTN correspondent
    • Eduardo Cue, an international freelance journalist
    • Mary C. Curtis, a columnist for Roll Call
Read the rest atCGTN
Mar112017 TAGS: , , , , ,

Vol. 1: Mary C. Curtis Writes Because the Problem is Not “Fake News”

Featured at Grub Street

Writing, today, seems different, especially when you write and report on issues of politics, culture, and race, as I do. Growing up, journalism as a profession had always felt a little sketchy to me—and not just because my mother thought doctor or lawyer seemed a lot surer a bet for an African-American girl raised in West Baltimore, trying to make something of herself. It was also because the job of observing the world to make sense of it seemed not to fit the description of “job” I grew up on.

Read the rest atGrub Street
Mar102017

We Need Robert Osborne to Tell Us This Is Only a Movie

Featured at Roll Call

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.

Read the rest atRoll Call
Mar092017 TAGS: , ,
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