Episodes
Wednesday Dec 14, 2016
Wednesday Dec 14, 2016
Yesterday was the day that all 50 states and the District of Columbia must confirm the presidential election vote in their respective jurisdictions and the names of electors for each candidate who will be participating in the Electoral College on Dec. 19 that officially will select the president and vice president of the United States.
Leid Stories discusses the lead-up to yesterday, which put the Trump-Pence ticket in an unbeatable position to claim the presidency and vice presidency, having won the most electoral votes. But we also cast a light on the political flipside—embittered Democratic candidate’s Hillary Clinton’s threat to “never give up” her quest to be president, and the Green Party’s recount effort to challenge Trump’s win.
Tuesday Dec 13, 2016
Tuesday Dec 13, 2016
The national, media-driven obsession at the moment is that the American electoral process—in fact, democracy itself—was hijacked by Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who directed his cyberwarriors to technologically engineer a historic win for President-elect Donald Trump.
Russian “interference” the 2016 election—via hackers and other sophisticated cyberwar methods—has denied her victory, Hillary Clinton claims, and is a direct threat to the nation’s democratic ideals and practices.
President Barack Obama took the issue public last Friday (it has been the subject of ongoing, closed-door discussions by the administration for quite some time), when he announced that he had requested a “deep-dive” report from U.S. intelligence and security agencies about U.S. vulnerability to cyberattacks generally, and Russia’s in particular. The report is due by Jan. 20, when Obama’s term ends and President-elect Donald Trump officially is to be inaugurated. Meanwhile, Congress is bristling with bipartisan efforts to launch a slew of investigations.
Leid Stories listeners’ cool heads deconstruct the moment we’re in, doing their own “deep dive” into the orchestrated hysteria, and pinpointing what’s not being said about Russia’s alleged “interference” in the 2016 presidential election.
Monday Dec 12, 2016
Monday Dec 12, 2016
President Barack Obama on Friday ordered a comprehensive report from U.S. intelligence agencies on alleged attempts, especially by Russia, to influence or engineer the outcome of U.S. national elections, going back to 2008, when Obama was elected to the first of two consecutive terms.
The report, the White House said, is to be submitted before Jan. 20, when Obama’s term ends and President-elect Donald Trump officially is inaugurated.
Obama’s directive drew intense reaction in Congress. Many wondered whether it was Obama’s parting shot to Vladimir Putin, with whom Obama has had a difficult relationship, or whether would trigger war hawks would use it to escalate East-West tensions to the Cold War era.
For Hillary Clinton, though, it’s a setup for a comeback. Her political fortunes dashed by Trump in the 2016 election, she yearns for a comeback. Trump’s stunning victory, she claimed, was the result of Russia’s cyberattacks against her, the Democratic Party and the political process.
Leid Stories connects Obama’s probe to other recent political developments that suggest a coordinated effort to topple Trump by any means necessary and pave the way for a Clinton comeback.
Friday Dec 09, 2016
Leid Stories—It’s ‘Free Your Mind Friday!’ Don’t Hold Back!—12.09.16
Friday Dec 09, 2016
Friday Dec 09, 2016
Quite a week. Lots to say. Get it said on “Free Your Mind Friday,” the best open forum on the planet.
Add your own special flavor to this delicious intellectual soup. Call 888-874-4888 and serve it up hot!
Thursday Dec 08, 2016
Thursday Dec 08, 2016
A federal judge in Michigan last night shut down a recount of ballots cast in the presidential election, upholding a state appeals court ruling that presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party, who initiated the recount action, was not an “aggrieved” candidate under Michigan law, and had no standing or valid reasons for demanding a recount.
Stein is appealing the decision, but it is likely to yield the same result as in Pennsylvania, where the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas yesterday backed up the election board’s refusal to allow Stein full access to the city’s voting machines and their programming software.
Stein’s recount push in Wisconsin so far has yielded negligible change in the final vote count, according to Wisconsin Election Commission officials.
The Green Party’s recount project has generated a great deal of discussion on Leid Stories. We make room for discussion today.
Wednesday Dec 07, 2016
Wednesday Dec 07, 2016
The Green Party’s petitions for court-ordered recounts of 2016 presidential votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania so far have yielded mixed results.
With 23 of 72 counties completing their recounts by yesterday, President-elect Donald Trump added 105 more votes in those counties to his 22,000 margin of victory over Hillary Clinton, who lost 41 votes.
In Michigan, where eight counties began recounts of 4.8 million ballots on Monday, a state appeals court ordered an immediate halt to the recounts. Stein has no standing in requesting recounts, the court said, because her poor showing in Michigan does not qualify her as an “aggrieved candidate” under state law. State Attorney General Bill Schuette wants to stop the recounts immediately. The state election board considers the matter today.
Election officials in Pennsylvania announced yesterday adjusted figures showing Trump’s lead over Clinton shrinking from 71,000 to 49,000 of more than 6 million votes cast. But that discrepancy, being contested in a new round of lawsuits by Trump and Republican voters and super PACS, is not enough to trigger an automatic recount, officials said.
Stein has said that her recount push is meant to “protect the integrity” of the vote and the democratic process. But Leid Stories has been raising questions about whether it is as one-dimensional as that.
Tuesday Dec 06, 2016
Tuesday Dec 06, 2016
We continue yesterday’s discussion about the Green Party’s puzzling demand for vote recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Dr. Jill Stein, the party’s 2016 presidential candidate who garnered 1 percent of the national vote and zero electoral votes, filed court actions to force the recounts, even though support for the party in those three states was very low and was expected to be. The battle in all states essentially was between Republican Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton; all other parties barely registered on the election-vote radar. In the targeted recount states, however, the margin of victory between Trump and Clinton was slim.
Intimating that the Green Party has reason to believe that both the votes and the voting process might have been compromised Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania—although no complaints have been filed and Stein admits the party has no evidence of vote tampering—Stein says the recounts are meant to “protect the integrity” of the voting process.
Stein’s recounts are being funded by donors and supporters; the cash-strapped party has raised $7.1 million of the $9.5 million it will cost. But while Stein touts this as proof of brisk support for her just launched “vote-integrity” project, both she and the party are embroiled in a firestorm of criticism.
Monday Dec 05, 2016
Monday Dec 05, 2016
Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party’s presidential candidate in the 2016 election who got 1 percent of the popular vote and zero electoral votes, last week stunned the political world and even her running mate, Ajamu Baraka, with the announcement that she would seek a vote recount in three states—Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania—with slim voter margins between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Stein said the effort was to “protect the integrity of the vote,” hinting that it was possible that Trump’s victory in these states might have been the result of rigging or fraud. Millions were raised to fund the recounts.
Stein targeted Pennsylvania first on her recount list, taking her fight to state court. Over the weekend, she announced she’ll seek redress in federal court instead. Her lawyers, she said, will be making her case in federal courts in Wisconsin and Michigan as well.
Stein’s recount moves have caused a firestorm of reaction. What’s really behind her actions? Leid Stories listeners debate this and other salient questions relating to the Great Recount 2016.
Friday Dec 02, 2016
Friday Dec 02, 2016
It’s our weekly open forum, “Free Your Mind Friday,” on Leid Stories, and you’re invited to share your astute observations and analysis of the issues and events that shaped the week, or on any subject you consider worthy of further discussion or debate.
Call 888-874-4888 and let’s hear what you have to say!
Thursday Dec 01, 2016
Leid Stories—TrumpWorld Shapes Up. Scared Yet?—12.01.16
Thursday Dec 01, 2016
Thursday Dec 01, 2016
President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet and top-staff picks so far are an interesting lot and a strong indication of where he and his new administration—and, by extension, the rest of us—are headed.
The “Dream Team” he has been assembling since winning the election is a mostly-white-male collection of billionaires, global financiers and corporatists, well-connected political-insider retreads, military/intelligence war hawks, and God-and-country nativists bent on returning America to its “values,” and choice denizens from the political “swamp” Trump has sworn to drain.
Scared yet?
Leid Stories says the signs are already on the wall that we’re in for a long, bruising fight against oligarchy. Are we ready?