Leid Stories

Leid Stories—Thurgood Marshall: Justice At the Court—10.04.18

Against the backdrop of chaos that surrounds Washington, D.C. circuit court judge Brett,  President Donald Trump's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Leid Stories presents a startling contrast--the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

The noted litigator and jurist was named to the nation's highest court by President Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1967 and served until October 1991. During that time, Marshall, the first African American appointed to the court, had a profound impact on the laws of the land.

We listen in as journalist Juan Williams discusses his biography, Thurgood Marshall, American Revolutionary, that was eight years in the making. 

Leid Stories--Self Identity and National Identity: What Does It Mean to Be 'American'?--10.03.18

When we think about it, what defines us today? What would we say constitutes our notion of self identity? And how does self identity relate to the idea of national identity?

Straightforward questions, it seems. But as we'll discuss today on Leid Stories, identity issues have been and continue to be driving forces in practically all aspects of American life. How are we dealing with this reality? Which values ultimately determine "American" identity?

Leid Stories—The Supreme Court As A Major Impediment to Social, Political and Economic Parity and Progress for People of Color in the United States—10.02.18

Dr. Calvin Schermerhorn, a historian (Arizona State University-Tempe) of slavery, capitalism and African American inequality and the author of several authoritative books, scholarly papers and articles on the subject, discusses the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in establishing and maintaining the legal badges of slavery and white supremacy in America.

Dr. Schermerhorn's presentation draws a stark contrast against the popularly held view of the U.S. Supreme Court chiefly as a dispassionate interpreter of the law. Instead, he says, the nation's highest court was born in the crucible of slavery and white supremacy and enshrined those values and attitudes in the supreme "laws" of the land.

Leid Stories--The Kavanaugh Nomination Debacle Is Ugly Enough. What It's Hiding Is Even Uglier --10.01.18

The nation is riveted by the constantly unfolding story of Brett Kavanaugh, the Washington, D.C. circuit court judge President Donald Trump has nominated to fill s vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. The Senate Judiciary Committee has blunted Kavanaugh's hoped-for shoo-in with hearings and a pending investigation that have him at the center of sexual misconduct charges. It's a macabre reality show, with Trump in his familiar role of executive producer. But as is normal for the genre, the public won't get to see the outtakes--which is what we'll be talking about today on Leid Stories. the What's emerging The stories media's intense coverage of the It is the headline-grabbing story of the Monday night’s overhyped, corporate-media-hosted “Big Debate” between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is yet another reason the duopoly’s stranglehold on electoral politics must end.

Leid Stories--Detroit Activists: 'System More Crooked Than Convicted Former Mayor'; Trump's Support for Kavanaugh Wanes, Leaving Nominee to the Wolves--09.27.18

Kwame Kilpatrick, a former Democratic state representative and former mayor of the City of Detroit, currently is serving a 28-year sentence after conviction, in 2003, on 24 federal fraud and racketeering charges. He left office in 2008 after being convicted on federal perjury and obstruction-of-justice charges. Kilpatrick's political resume should make him a pariah, but activists in Detroit are urging a reconsideration of his plight. Kilpatrick, they say, was targeted for political annihilation by a racist system. Longtime activist Elena Herrada explains.

We return to the Trump's U.S. Supreme Court nominee mess, which gets messier by the minute--with claims of sexual misconduct hounding nominee Brett Kavanaugh rather than  close scrutiny of his legal scholarship and his attitudes concerning sensitive matters of law.

Trump, no longer a vigorous defender of his  nominee, appears to be distancing himself from Kavanaugh. Has Trump decided to save himself and leave Kavanaugh to the  wolves?

Leid Stories--For Our Survival, We Must Work with What We Have and Trust In What We Know--09.25.18

More and more, the evidence confronts us but we refuse to pay attention to it. Instead, we convince ourselves that the massive social,  political and economic aberrations we are witnessing not only are "normal," but in fact are signs of systems adjusting to the push and pull of progress and growth. 

Nonsense. There are massive shifts occurring all over the world and they have little to do with progress and growth for the masses of people.

Leid Stories looks at how, especially during election season, false messages are used to galvanize various segments of voters. But we should be alert to false narratives and reject them, and instead see to our collective survival, working with what we have and trusting in what we know.

Leid Stories--Cosby and Kavanaugh: Separate and Unequal Under Law--09.24.

A Pennsylvania judge today will decide the fate of entertainment mogul and philanthropist Bill Cosby, who was convicted in 2004 of three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Whatever sentence Justice Steven O'Neill decides, Cosby's lawyers are expected to appeal. 

Meanwhile, a different legal drama is playing itself out in Washington, D.C, as hearings are being held for Brett Kavanaugh, President  Donald Trump's nominee to replace retired Associate Justice  Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kavanaugh, a Court of Appeals judge in Washington, D.C, is being hounded by claims from his college years that he sexually  assaulted several women, including one demanding to testify against him

Leid Stories discusses remarkable differences in the ways that the charges against Cosby and those against Kavanaugh have been, and are being, handled.

Leid Stories--It's "Free Your Mind Friday," and We're Talking Out Loud--09.21.18

Join our weekly open forum and let your voice be heard on a topic or issue of your choice.

Call 888-874-4888 and talk out loud! 

Leid Stories--Obama, Clintons Afflicted With Same Disease: Acute Foundation Rot--09.20.18

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago's city council today are being forced to explain a number of extraordinary incentives the city seemed almost certain to agree to in laying out the red carpet for the planned Obama Presidential Complex. Outraged  Chicagoans, however, say the sprawling complex, a project of the Obama Foundation, has already taken on the stench of corrupt, Chicago-style politics.

Speaking of the murky world of politically connected foundations, Leid Stories provides significant updates on domestic and international probes of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation.

Charity fraud expert and retired Wall Street banker Charles Ortel, whose forensic investigations have unmasked the Clinton Foundation as a massive fraud, explains why the Obama Foundation also is not passing the smell test.

Leid Stories--One thing's for sure this election year - 09.18.18

Leid Stories--One thing's for sure this election year: Voters have a lot of homework to do to get at some reasonable understanding of issues that matter to them. For 'tis the season of heavy distraction.

Leid Stories takes a look at the heavy artillery being deployed against voters' desire to understand issues important to them and, ultimately, how they might vote.