Leid Stories

Leid Stories - Gun Control in the Crosshairs - 01/16/13

President Obama today unveils gun-control measures he hopes to enact into federal law -- either with the help of a fractured, combative Congress or via executive order. Either way, it's an uphill battle, and it doesn't help that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), a 2016 presidential hopeful, has stolen his thunder with "the toughest gun legislation in the country" he signed into law yesterday. In her commentary, Utrice discusses the missing link in the gun-control debate -- which, she says, is race-based.

Plus, listeners lock horns with each other in "On Point," debating the question: "Civil Rights or Human Rights?"

Leid Stories - By No Means A Dreamer - 01/15/13

He was born on Jan. 15, 1929, so Leid Stories honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today. The Nobel laureate delivers a timeless and prophetic speech, calling all people of conscience to be fearless agents of change. In the United States, he says, it means battling "the giant triplets of racism, militarism and economic exploitation."

This speech was delivered at Riverside Church in New York City exactly a year before his assassination on April 4, 1968. King, by no means a dreamer, by then had exponentially ratcheted up his activism, from mobilizing to organizing the masses.

Leid Stories - Party Planning - 01/14/13

Now is the time. Americans are fed up with a political system that has run out of just about everything -- integrity, credibility, accountability, even good ideas. Republicans, chastened by defeat, are attempting a makeover; their brand has lost its luster. Democrats, too, realize they've lost ground; they'll be facing off in future contests against a recalibrated GOP. Trouble is, there's little sign of activity in the other-political-party world, even though the time is right. If they don't get to work soon, visibly organizing their political bases, agendas and strategies, then they deserve to be dismissed as irrelevant.

Leid Stories - Oh Bummer: The President Disappoints - 01/11/13

From his white-male-dominated insider Cabinet to his intent to bypass Congress and legislate by executive order, it's been rough going for President Barack Obama. But he deserves it. For, the man who (once again) sold himself to a distressed electorate as their standard bearer is proving himself to be a willing hostage of old-guard political and money interests.

Syndicated columnist and CNN commentator Ruben Navarrette explains by Obama is "not to be trusted" on immigration, and Utrice expounds on her ongoing observation that Obama's two administrations "are disturbingly Clintonesque."

Michael Hirsh of the National Journal discusses his recent article on Treasury nominee Jacob "Jack" Lew's Wall Street connections. "Don't expect him to pursue much in the way of bank reform," he says.

Leid Stories - The Gun Control Debate: It's A (Mostly) White Thing -

Anything strike you as strange about media coverage of the raging gun-violence/gun-control debate in the United States? Here's a clue: It's a shutout. Leid Stories explains how and why mainstream media outlets -- and many alternative media outlets, too -- propagate and reinforce racist narratives that ultimately affect not only Americans, but the world view of America.

Leid Stories - On Point with the Gun Control Debate - 01/09/13

Leid Stories debuts a regularly occurring feature of the program, "On Point." Listeners are randomly paired with each other in lively debate about major issue or event; Utrice serves as moderator. In this edition's cross hairs: Gun control.

Leid Stories - Pols Gone Wild - 01/08/13

No, it's not a new reality show, just a new reality that seems to have taken hold of Washington, D.C. On Capitol Hill, folks are behaving badly, up to their old tricks and showing in-your-face contempt for the rule of law and violating the trust of voters. The president, too, is behaving badly, backpedaling on high-minded principles, cutting corners and calling them "compromises," and, lately, showing a Clintonian penchant for not quite telling the truth. Bureaucrats are behaving badly, doing what's expedient, not what's right. And the Republicans are at war with the Democrats, even though ideologically there's very little difference between them. Is this what we'll be stuck with for the next four years?

Leid Stories - Obama's Middle-Class Muddle - 01/07/13

The Obama administration and top Democrats in Congress were pleased with the Jan. 4 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing an upward tick in employment and a slight dip in the national unemployment rate, at 7.8%. It's yet another sign that Obama's economic strategies are working, they said -- a boon for the middle class. Leid Stories deciphers Obama's middle-class muddle: (a) The classification certainly does not include the vast majority of people of color, and (b), Obama's staunchest supporters are the hardest hit by unemployment.

Leid Stories - Capitol and Capital Offenses - 01/04/13

It's official: Old-style politics reigns once again on Capitol Hill. John Boehner, re-elected overlord of the House, swears off any one-on-one meetings with the also re-elected Barack Obama and everyone toes the line while vying for choice committee assignments. Leid Stories also takes a look at the different treatment and outcomes for the perpetrators of two mass killings -- James Eagan Holmes (Aurora, Colo., July 20, 2012 ) and Colin Ferguson (Long Island Railroad, N.Y., Dec. 7, 1993).

Leid Stories - New Congress, Old Politics - 01/03/13

The 113th Congress is seated today -- in the aftermath of contentious negotiations on the so-called fiscal cliff and the prospect of continuing partisan acrimony on debt, tax and austerity measures related to the national budget and other leftover domestic and foreign-policy issues. The people worry: "Will this Congress shake off its do-nothing past?" "Will legislators actually carry out our wishes?" "Will President Obama do the right thing(s)?" The real question, says Utrice, is: "Are we prepared for battle?" Because that's what the next four years are going to be.