Leid Stories

What Next for America’s Fergusons?: Beyond the Grand Jury Decision - 11.21.14

Our discussions this week are a primer on the legal issues involved in a case that has commanded national and international attention—the killing of Michael Brown, a young black man, by Darren Wilson, a white officer with the Ferguson Police Department in Missouri.

A grand jury that has been reviewing the case for three months imminently is expected to announce whether it has voted criminal charges against Wilson.  But as Leid Stories pointed out, the case has been handled in such a manner that, indictment or no, the officer won’t lose.

Today we discuss the immediate and long-term future. What use will we make of the many truths learned from our analysis of this case? How will they shape our political consciousness—and, more so, our actions? What are to be the next moves for the people of Ferguson and for the Fergusons of America?

Our guest, “the people’s attorney general,” Alton H. Maddox Jr., frames these questions in the context of the continuum of struggle by blacks for equality and justice. Listeners contribute their thoughts.

Civil Rights or 30-Pieces-of-Silver Rights?: Betrayal of Justice in Ferguson - 11.20.14

A tidal wave of self-explanation, self-justification and finger pointing has preceded the imminent announcement of the grand jury’s decision on whether Officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department criminally will be charged with killing Michael Brown and brought to trial. It’s all to blunt criticism or responsibility for missteps in handling the case that might affect the outcome. And there have been many.

Leid Stories turns its attention today to the biggest missteps in the case—the roles of the Rev. Al Sharpton and the lawyers he brought in to represent the family of Michael Brown. What they did, and what they failed to do, have produced the net result of the case being used to satisfy a number of hidden agendas but not the purported No. 1 priority of justice. The grand jury’s ruling, whichever way it goes, is linked directly to these missteps.

“The people’s attorney general,” Alton H. Maddox Jr., returns to discuss how the actions (and non-actions) of Sharpton and his legal team make them as responsible as the system for impeding the course of justice in Ferguson and in the Fergusons of America.

Ferguson’s Hope for Justice and the U.S. Department of Justice - 11.19.14

Gov. Jay Nixon yesterday declared a state of emergency in Ferguson, adding the National Guard to the heavy police presence planned for the city when the grand jury’s decision on whether Police Officer Darren Wilson is to be prosecuted for killing Michael Brown is announced. Nixon and local officials promise a kinder, gentler militarization.

The grand jury’s ruling, a determination of Wilson’s criminal culpability, formally will conclude the state’s inquiry into the contentious Aug. 9 shooting, which touched off weeks-long unrest and violent skirmishes between protesters and police. But the state grand jury isn’t the only determinant of justice. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder had launched a Department of Justice investigation into Brown’s death and the Ferguson Police Department.

Following yesterday’s discussion on the state grand jury, Leid Stories focuses on the federal inquiry and whether Ferguson’s hope for Justice will be delivered by the Justice Department. “Attorney at War” Alton H. Maddox Jr. discusses the competing interests and conflicts of the state and federal investigations. 

Leid Stories - Immunity: The Ferguson Prosecutor’s Thanksgiving Gift to Killer Cop? - 11/17/14

Indictment or no, Darren Wilson, the Ferguson Police Department officer who shot dead 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9, gets a valuable Thanksgiving gift from the grand jury—immunity.

If there’s no indictment, Wilson immediately will return to active duty, says Police Chief Tom Jackson. If the grand jury does indict, he adds, the officer “most likely” will be terminated, “if it is a felony.”

Under immunity deals typically agreed to by prosecutors, Wilson’s four hours before the grand jury, touted by prosecutor Robert McCullough as an earnest desire to lay bare all the facts of the fatal encounter with Brown, possibly have shielded the officer from prosecution in the current case and in any future cases in which his testimony could substantiate new charges.

Our guest today, “Attorney at War” Alton H. Maddox Jr., has litigated and won some of the most contentious criminal and civil-rights cases in New York City in recent years. He explains why a key element in the grand jury’s decision is the immunity deal McCullough might have given Wilson in exchange for Wilson’s testimony.

Leid Stories - 11/14/14

Free Your Mind Now to Deal With the Madness Ahead!

This is no time to have a confused mind. Based on what’s coming down the pike, your mind needs all the help it can get to maintain clarity.

Get a head start with “Free Your Mind Friday” on Leid Stories, one of the best open forums on the planet.

Tune in (www.PRN.FM) to appreciate a wide range of thought, opinions and ideas about major issues and events. Or, call in (888-874-4888) and actively contribute to same. 

Either way, you’ll have greater clarity about our current situation, and you'll be better prepared to deal with the madness ahead.

Leid Stories - 11/13/14

Obama’s Asian ‘Pivot’: Foreign-Policy Wins Needed to Offset Domestic Disaster

Having struck an agreement in principle with China to jointly lead global initiatives to combat climate change, President Barack Obama is in Myanmar today for the 25thannual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, comprising the sixth-largest economy in the world. Tomorrow, he arrives in Brisbane, Australia, for the ninth summit meeting of the G-20 nations.

Still reeling from a trouncing by Republicans, Obama is pushing hard to make the mileage he’s putting in pay off. Voters rebuked his domestic policies; the “pivot” toward Asia that he touted as a centerpiece of his foreign policy could gain him and the Democrats some badly needed points. The problem, says our guest, is that the United States isn’t exactly getting rave reviews from these nations either. Besides, they’ve significantly changed the power equation between themselves, as some of the largest economies in the world, and the United States.

Diplomatic scholar, historian and prolific author Dr. Gerald Horne, the John J. and Rebecca Moores chair of history and African American studies at the University of Houston, deciphers whether the Asian climate bodes well for Obama’s pivot.     

Leid Stories - 11/12/14

Governor Militarizes, Sharpton Mitigates, Ahead of Grand Jury Decision

Obama Picks Up Speed. Like All Things Going Downhill?

Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri yesterday left no doubt that the City of Ferguson will be re-militarized upon the announcement of the grand jury’s decision whether to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson for killing Michael Brown. He announced at a news conference that, whatever the grand jury’s decision, there’ll be more than enough law-enforcement personnel on hand, including the National Guard, to “safeguard safety and speech.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton did some pre-emptive PR of his own, firing off a news release blaming Nixon for mishandling the protests after Brown’s death and for not appointing a special prosecutor in the case—which, as Leid Stories repeatedly pointed out, neither Sharpton nor the lawyers handling the case had called for.

 

The thorough thrashing that the other wing of the flightless governmental bird handed President Barack Obama on Nov. 4 seems not to be slowing him down. Indeed, since the beatdown the president’s been a man on the move, determined to get things done, even if all by himself.

Obama’s new burst of energy over immigration, net neutrality, the war against ISIS (and Iraq and Syria), Ebola, the Trans-Pacific Partnership/Asia “pivot” and other long-simmering issues belies the fact that he seems to be following his old script, both in terms of focus and method. This new speed of his, is it the kind that happens when going downhill?

Leid Stories - 11/11/14

On This Veterans Day, A Reminder That We’re Missing In Action

As it usually does, the nation will pause today to salute veterans of its many wars. With purposeful patriotism, they will be thanked for their service to their country—giving their lives or taking other people’s in the name of “freedom and democracy.”

On this day, says Leid Stories, while we honor our veterans we should bear in mind that the government routinely dishonors them by literally making them the shock troops for regional and global domination. This day, therefore, should serve as a reminder that, on the matter of governmental misuse of the military, we are for the most part missing in action.

Vince Emanuele, a former U.S. Marine who refused to do a third tour in Iraq, talks about the culture of warfare, the plight of veterans returning home from war, the military industrial complex, and the importance of organizing resistance to it in order to create a just society.

Emanuele is an organizer for the Michigan chapter of Veterans For Peace and serves on the national board of directors of Iraq Veterans Against the War. 

Leid Stories - 11/10/14

Ferguson, MO: Racist Public Policy and the ‘Sundown’ Town

Detroit Bankruptcy: Judge OKs Exit Plan, But Major Battles Loom

The Aug. 8 killing of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old African American, by a white local police officer, Darren Wilson, brought Ferguson, Missouri, to national and international attention as yet another example of the woefully lopsided power equation between African Americans and the systems that control them and their communities.

Our guest, Richard Rothstein, a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute and senior fellow of the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at the University of California (Berkeley) School of Law, explains that Ferguson—and the Fergusons of America—were created and continue to be shaped by racist governmental policies that reflect and reinforce societal attitudes. Ferguson, he says, remains true to the letter and spirit of its origins—as a “sundown” town that required Blacks to disappear from sight at the end of the day.

 

The almost two-year (20 months) legal battle over the largest municipal bankruptcy in the history of the United States came to an end last week, when U.S. District Judge Steven Rhodes ruled that the City of Detroit’s reorganization plan was feasible and fair, and will put the city back on solid financial footing. The euphoria by officials that accompanied Rhodes’ decision, however, is in stark contrast to the anger and angst of many Detroiters who believe they and their city are victims of an orchestrated political hit.

Abayomi Azikiwe, Leid Stories’ correspondent Detroit’s bankruptcy and related issues, reports on the key elements of the court’s decision.

Leid Stories – 11/07/14

What A Week! You Really Need to Free Your Mind!

It’s been a bruiser of a week on the home front, to say the least, and the new Republican order is just getting started. Add what’s happening around the globe to the mix and it’s more than enough to drive you over the edge.

Don’t panic, all’s not lost. But it is time for a major mind cleanse. Leid Stories is here to help you free your mind.

Bring your best to “the gathering place for the exchange of information, opinions and ideas” and engage with others in vigorous discussion and debate. Add your voice, your perspective, to an unscripted, ongoing dialogue about issues and events that matter to us all. Gain new insights as you help others to do the same.