Leid Stories

Leid Stories - 10/11/13

The Two-Party System: The Lesser of Two Evils; The Evil of Two Lessers

Has it not become abundantly clear that the two-party system will continue to give us more of what we’ve been getting – having to choose between the lesser of two evils and the evil of two lessers?

In this protracted political stickup the people lose. We’re mere hostages to these marauders, and they know that we’re either unwilling or way too scared to break free.

Yet, it’s our best and only option.

Leid Stories - 10/10/13

Kakistocracy: It’s What’s for Government

Starting now and for the immediate future, pay no attention to blather about “democratic rule.” The triangulation of good ol’ American exceptionalism in Washington — the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government — has killed it. Dead.

Democracy is out. Kakistocracy — government by the most unprincipled people, the worst elements in our society — is in.

The current situation is a case study in the dramatic shift that has occurred at practically all levels of government, creating a relationship between those who govern and those governed that more closely resembles that between predator and prey. It’s not government by the people, for the people; it’s government despite the people, intentionally insulated against their will.

Leid Stories explains how we got to this point and what can be done about it. 

Leid Stories - 10/09/13

Between A Rock and A Hard Place: Latinegros in the USA"

Jakiyah McKoy, 7, was crowned Little Miss Delaware on Aug. 31. A month later, she was stripped of the title and crown because pageant officials said she could not prove her Latin heritage.

Actually, the sponsoring organization, Nuestras Raices Delaware, caved in to “complaints” that Jakiyah, who is black, “is not the best representative of Latin beauty.” A committee is “investigating” Jakiyah’s heritage, since one of the pageant’s rules is that contestants must be “at least 25-percent” Latina.

Jakiyah’s story has touched off, once again, a raging discussion about racism and skin politics in the Latino community. Leid Stories’ guest, Dr. Marta Cruz-Janzen, a longtime scholar of multicultural education, rips the scab off this festering sore in her live presentation, “Between A Rock and A Hard Place: Latinegros in the USA.” A Q&A follows.

Leid Stories - 10/08/13

What’s News With You? Give Your Take On Open Forum!

Share your thoughts, opinions, ideas and analyses of issues and events you deem newsworthy. It’s Open Forum on Leid Stories – which means you decide where and how the discussion ought to go.

But be warned: Very savvy people will be listening to you, expecting keen insight and a command of your subject matter. They will show you no mercy if you come up short. (Actually, that’s an exaggeration – the “no mercy” business -- but it’s meant to encourage you to do your best.)

Call in and share your considered opinion, and experience for yourself the reaction to your interaction!

Leid Stories - 10/07/13

How Obamacare Became Law: The Inside Story

Touted as President Obama’s single greatest accomplishment so far, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, is also his most controversial and brazenly daring.

Now central to the government shutdown and looming debt-ceiling talks, it has ignited an all-out bipartisan war in Washington, with Republicans seeking to delay or defund it and Democrats determined to not let their landmark legislative victory come undone. Polls show a similar sharp divide among Americans. Few are neutral about Obamacare, and most accept it’s the law.

But how did Obamacare become law?

Josh Blackman, assistant professor of law at the South Texas College of Law and author of the recently released Unprecedented: The Constitutional Challenge to Obamacare, explains the executive, legislative and judicial life cycles of the law and why, even as it is being implemented, is constitutionally illegitimate to many. 

Leid Stories - 10/04/13

In Georgia, Descendants of Slaves Battle to Hold On to Their Land;

Across the Country, ObamaCare Is VoterCare

A small Gullah community of about 30 families living on Sapelo Island, off the Georgia coast, are in a fierce battle with the county government and local land developers to hold on to their ancestral land. The direct descendants of freed slaves who bought their land and settled on the pristine island, they say the county is trying to force them out by hiking their property taxes, even though they receive no county services and are protected by federal law against any land-value increases “that could force removal of the indigenous population.”

Plus, Leid Stories explores yet another dimension to ObamaCare – targeting African American and Latino communities with the health-insurance rollout, which will “inform” registrants at signup that they can also register to vote and will be “provided with voter registration services.”  It is estimated that one-third of uninsured Americans are not registered to vote.

Leid Stories - 10/03/13

The Shutdown-Obamacare Debacle: A Clarion Call to Action?

If the current situation in Washington doesn’t confirm for Americans the inherent dangers and limitations of the two-party system, nothing else will. Every effort is being made to convince us that what we’re witnessing is democracy in action when, in fact, it is a bloodfest among predators over who gets the choicest part of the kill – us. They’ve had us marked for a long time; they know our habits well. And so far, they’re right. There’s a lot of grumbling, but little or no action.

Leid Stories says now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of new parties. The Republican and Democratic parties, ideologically fraternal twins (not exactly like each other but close enough), should be thanked for the favor of energizing grassroots political action and an earnest effort at coalition building. They deserve to be put out of our misery.   

Leid Stories - 10/02/13

Race, Class and Unspoken Truths About Obamacare

The debacle officially known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) gets a thorough decoding by Dr. Vernellia Randall, professor emerita of law (University of Dayton School of Law), who was a consultant to a health-care-reform advisory committee during the Clinton administration.

Dr. Randall, who has been nationally recognized for her work in eliminating racial and class disparities in health care, was a litigator in Portland, Ore., specializing in health-care and insurance law; a health administrator for the State of Alaska; an expert witness in the landmark State of Missouri v. Philip Morris trial that took on the tobacco industry, linking cigarette smoking to several serious diseases; and a former nurse-practitioner in Seattle, Wash.

She writes and lectures extensively on race, women’s issues and health care.

Leid Stories - 10/01/13

Go Ahead, Get It Said! It’s Open Forum on Leid Stories!

You can’t possibly be neutral – not in this political climate, with all hell breaking loose at just about every level of government. The mic is open; we await your considered opinion on the issues of the day.

Go ahead, get it said! It’s Open Forum on Leid Stories, and you take the conversation wherever you want it to go. But be on point, because very savvy folks are listening to you.

Leid Stories - 09/27/13

So, You Know What’s News? Test Your News Knowledge on “Pop Quiz”

Leid Stories introduces “Pop Quiz,” a very sneaky way of keeping listeners on their toes.

Call in, get your news clue, then give at least three solid facts about it in 1 minute or less.

Be brave, dear friends. This being the first Pop Quiz, there is an abundance of compassion and an ardent desire to see you shine. Regular listeners should have no trouble at all.