African-American Confederate Democrat resigns SC Senate seat

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Today Eric Wood will join us in studio as a guest host and remind us of the upcoming “Rides for Strides” charity benefit for STRIDES, a Christian nonprofit educational program that provides individual academic instruction to youth who are having academic difficulties. Traci Young Fant will join us to discuss a couple of upcoming South Carolina events. The 2nd Annual Multicultural Festival and the "Out of Bondage" event.

Reporting breaking news this week in South Carolina, we jump from a “Cuban Confederate” resigning from Governor Haley’s steering committee to a Confederate Flag waving African-American State Senator resigning his seat in the wake of an ethics violation investigation. Senator Robert Ford, a Charleston Democrat is resigning after an investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee uncovered purchases from adult entertainment establishments using campaign funds. Senator Ford admitted to making the purchases as gag gifts for campaign volunteers who would not accept cash. Another purchase using a campaign credit card was for male enhancement pills not approved by the FDA.

Ford has stirred up controversy in the past with anti-Black comments in which he stated “brothers” do not work as hard as “Mexicans.” In a pro immigration argument, Ford argued that South Carolina needs immigrants to fill hard labor jobs because Black Americans will not do the work.

A photo has surfaced showing Senator John McCain on his secret trip to the Syrian border via Turkey posing with a Syrian rebel identified as Mohammad Nour. Nour is said to be the chief spokesperson and photographer for the Northern Storm brigade that kidnapped 11 Lebanese Shi'ite pilgrims last year. Numerous polls show an overwhelming majority of Americans do not think the US should engage itself in the Syrian civil war.

Despite the Mainstream Media helping the Obama administration to misinform the American public that the US is not sending weapons to the Syria opposition but other forms of aid, a Business Insider report in December 2012 says the Obama administration has been covertly sending heavy weapons to Syrian rebels from Libya through the CIA.

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Don't be silenced by Domestic Violence

  5:00PM EST

We welcome Amelia Pena back on the program today to discuss domestic criminal violence. She is a former victim of domestic violence and works locally to address the issue.

The war on the poor will last at least another 10 years if tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans are kept in place according to new CBO study. While Congressional members work to pass a farm bill that will deny even more people food assistance, a new study shows that over the next ten years, the wealthy will get 12 trillion dollars worth of tax breaks. In 2013, the top 20 percent of US income earners will receive more than half of the $900 billion in tax break benefits while 17 percent of total benefits will go to the top one percent of income earners.
After more than three years, a former Detroit police officer will go on trial for shooting and killing 7 yr-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones. The child was asleep on the couch when a botched police raid led to her being set on fire by a flash bang grenade thrown through the window and then shot through the top of her head by Officer Joseph Weekley who came crashing through the front door. Weekley was a member of the Detroit Police Special Response Team looking for the child's father in connection to his alleged involvement in supplying a weapon to someone who killed a teenager a week or so before the raid.

However, the police raided the wrong apartment of the two-family flat and the person they were looking for lived in the upper unit as was stated on the warrant. The A&E TV film crew taping for a show called “The First 48” captured the incident on film. Weekley attempted to blame the child's grandmother for grabbing his weapon causing it to discharge but that was letter proven to be false by gun powder residue testing.

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Veterans for Peace, Nikki Haley and Monsanto money in politics

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Guest: Wade Hampton Fulmer of Veterans for Peace will call in today. He joined us on Memorial Day but only had a short time to speak. He will share further thoughts on War & Peace.

We reported last week about Governor Nikki Haley appointing a suspected racist to her steering committee for re-election. On Sunday Governor Haley "cut ties" with Roan Garcia-Quintana who has described himself as a proud "Cuban Confederate" who loves the Confederacy.

We have been reporting on the global march that took place over the weekend against Monsanto that saw people of all ideological persuasions band together. In continuing our coverage, despite 90% plus percent of Americans opposing bills like the "Monsanto Protection Act" and a majority supporting GMO food labeling, Monsanto has used its deep pockets to buy off both the US House and Senate. It has been documented that $260,000 was openly pumped into the House, and $122,000 was pumped into the Senate but some think the real figure is in the millions. There are allegations that Monsanto paid Senator Roy Blunt (R-Ore.) to ‘help write’ the Monsanto Protection Act that grants Monsanto immunity from federal courts. RT News reports Blunt received $64,250 towards his campaign from the company.
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John McCain an old dog up to old tricks?

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It appears John McCain is not satisfied with representing Arizona as its Senator and perhaps he has forgotten he lost the 2008 Presidential election but that is not stopping John McCain from making moves on his own meddling in the affairs of other nations. Senator McCain recently met with commanders of the so-called "Free Syrian Army" who expressed anger that the United States was not providing them material support to overthrow the government of Syria. Old tricks? Back in 1988 when it was illegal to provide material support to the Contra rebels who were working to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, Senator John McCain along with other Republicans sent money from their own pockets according to an AP press report.

Sanford, Florida is back in the news headlines again for two reasons. A voicemail recording has surfaced on the Internet of two Papa John employees making racist statements against a Black customer that were captured when the delivery driver pocket dialed the customer. The employee was upset because he felt he did not get a large enough tip from the customer who tipped the driver more than 21% of the bill. The delivery driver and another employee, both have been fired, laughed and joked while singing racist songs using the N-word.
Keeping it in Sanford, Florida, the judge overseeing George Zimmerman's murder trial ruled that the defense would be limited in its ability to use text messages and photos in the trail to murder the character of Trayvon Martin, the teen who was shot and killed by Zimmerman on February 26, 2012. It took a massive grassroots movement to get the State of Florida to charge George Zimmerman and exposed that at least one investigator wanted Zimmerman charged before being overruled by his bosses in the Sanford Police Department. The Judge also denied a defense trial motion to postpone the trial which starts June 10, 2013.

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Memorial Day Tribute

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Join Occupy The Microphone and our guests as we observe Memorial Day today. We will discuss the historic roots of Memorial Day which trace back to Charleston, South Carolina and listen to some anti-war music from over the years by some great musical artists.

Guests: Wade Hampton Fulmer - Veterans for Peace of SC / Kevin Alexander Gray - Veteran, author, and radio personality / Scotty Reid - Veteran, Radio host and founder of Black Talk Media Project & Black Talk Radio Network
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Senate Republicans and Democrats vote to deny felons food assistance

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Senate Republicans and Democrats agree to pass Farm Bill that includes an amendment attached by Republican Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) which would exclude people who have selective felonies from being eligible for food assistance through the SNAP program. In an assault on States Rights, the amendment would prohibit State's ability to include those singled out by Vitter. Although people convicted of felonies have served their sentences for their crimes, they are often picked on by a nation that claims to be based on Christian values preventing them from getting their lives back on a positive track. WWJD?

In the same Farm Bill which would prohibit felons from receiving food assistance, the States Rights issue took another blow when the Senate overwhelmingly rejected an amendment that would allow States to decide if they wanted to require labeling for genetically modified foods. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) sponsored the amendment and before the vote said, "The concept we're talking about today is a fairly commonsense and non-radical idea, all over the world, in the European Union, in many other countries around the world, dozens and dozens of countries, people are able to look at the food that they are buying and determine through labeling whether or not that product contains genetically modified organisms."

As if transnational corporations do not get enough special breaks from loopholes in regulations from the US government, the Obama administration is being accused of negotiating secretly on two trade deals that allegedly further create a loss of jobs for American workers. Naked Capitalism reports that "The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the US-European Union “Free Trade” Agreement are both inaccurately depicted as being helpful to ordinary Americans by virtue of liberalizing trade. Instead, the have perilous little to do with trade. They are both intended to make the world more lucrative for major corporations by weakening regulations and by strengthening intellectual property laws. The TPP has an additional wrinkle of being an “everybody but China” deal, intended to strengthen ties among nations who will then be presumed allies of America in its efforts to contain China.

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South Carolina Governor appoints White Supremacist to re-election committee

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Raw story is reporting, "The Southern Poverty Law Center on Wednesday accused South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley of appointing a white supremacist to her steering committee." "The Anti-Defamation League has described Garcia-Quintana as a “white supremacist” and “a well-known leader” in the Council of Conservative Citizens." and "The NAACP described the Council of Conservative Citizens as “the largest white nationalist group in the country and direct descendant of the white Citizens Councils that fought to defend Jim Crow segregation during the 1950s and 1960s.”

President Obama announced new restraints on American targeted drone strikes at a speech at National Defense University. This comes on the heels of the administration admitting it has killed at least four US citizens via drone strikes but is also stating that only one was targeted.

In the wake of the devastating tornadoes that have ravaged the midwest, GOP nominee for Lt. Governor of Virginia, Bishop E.W. Jackson says that it is unconstitutional for the US federal government to provide disaster relief assistance. Others are pointing out that "The Constitution gives the United States broad authority to “lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States.”

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Popular Support for Medicaid expansion in Southern Red States

  5:00PM EST
A recent poll finds popular support for Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act in the Deep South Red States. However, the representatives in those states, including South Carolina, are dead set against the expansion regardless of the wishes of their constituents. McClatchy reports, "Even though governors and lawmakers in five Deep South states oppose a plan to cover more people through Medicaid under the health care overhaul, 62 percent of the people in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina support expanding the program, according to a new poll."

Yesterday we reported on the tragic shooting of Amos G. Smith back in March, a 26 yr-old man who was shot by Union City police in the back of the head. We also reported that in a span of less than 27 hours, police in the California Bay Area shot and killed four young men, three of which are confirmed to be African-Americans. Today we were able to catch up with Attorney John Burris who represents the families of two of the men shot by police including the family of Amos G. Smith.

We have been following the case of Jodi Arias who was convicted of shooting and stabbing her boyfriend and whose case is in the death penalty phase. We will provide you with the latest updates and an update on the US House of Representatives who vote today on taking the Keystone Pipeline decision out of President Obama’s hands.

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Mainstream media ignores tragic police shooting of Amos G. Smith

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Amos G. Smith, a 26 yr old whom by all accounts was an upstanding member of the community and an aspiring business owner, was shot and killed by two Union City police officers on March 2, 2013 in California. It is alleged that Mr. Smith pointed a weapon at the officers who then fired on the young man hitting him eight times in the back of the head according to his mother. There are no mainstream corporate media reports on this story on record. The attorney for the Smith family and the pastor of Smith’s church are stating that the police, who are investigating, need to be more forthcoming with information and details surrounding this tragic incident. The Alameda County District Attorney is conducting a separate investigation into the shooting.

Eleven American Indian tribes reportedly stormed out of a meeting with federal officials over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. There was a massive oil spill from a similar pipeline in Arkansas this year and the Pegasus oil pipeline leaked again in Ripley County, Missouri flooding a residential home. Although the Keystone XL pipeline is not supposed to go through American Indian lands, they are still concerned that their lands will be impacted due to close proximity. The tribal leaders walked out of the meeting with State Department representatives because they said they will not meet with low-level underlings and will only meet with President Obama.

It is being reported that in 2012 alone, over 85 thousand US military veterans sought assistance for sexual abuse trauma from rapes that occurred while they were on active duty. Congress has only begun to address the long standing issue of soldiers raping soldiers. However, this recent report also brings up a related issue and that is rape is not a gender specific issue as females are often portrayed by the media to be the only victims. While they make up the majority of the 85 thousand victims who reported their trauma, 40% of the victims were male. The Department of Veterans Affairs says that one in five women and one in one hundred men screen positive for military sexual trauma, but few are seeking treatment. That means the actual number of sexual assault victims in the US military could be much higher.

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Sex, Drugs & Mad Men

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Mad Men on AMC, probably the most award winning TV show of all time, recently took a dark turn in its chronicle of beleaguered Don Draper, a Gatsby-esque character who rose from being a prostitute's poor son to being a Madison Avenue millionaire. Don recently got into some B and D action with a neighbor's wife and then last night, got a (legal) shot of speed, as so many in that area of the country did in the 60s. However, the mainstream critics seem left in the dust and they do not 'get' any of this. What does it mean when the critics are out of touch with a mainstream of the USA and do not share the personal experiences and history of the 99%? Can they cover news properly, in that case?

Meanwhile, President Obama has appointed Penny Pritzker to head up the Commerce Department, bringing on attacks from organized labor and others. The Pritzker family is accused of making over a billion dollars in banking and other pursuits, including government sponsored, taxpayer-funded bailouts.

Finally, our own Senator Lindsey Graham is cheering on an Endless War on Terrorism as the Pentagon brass testify that they already have all the congressional approval they need to launch strikes pretty much anywhere they choose.

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Quest for HIV/AIDS vaccine suffers setback

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Joining us today is Tracey Jackson of Piedmont Care to discuss "AIDS Vaccine Awareness Day". World AIDS Vaccine Day, also known as HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, is observed annually on May 18. HIV vaccine advocates mark the day by promoting the continued urgent need for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection and AIDS. The LA Times reported the US Government shut down a HIV/AIDS vaccine trial last month citing "an independent panel of safety experts found that participants getting the vaccine appeared to be slightly more likely to contract the virus and no better at suppressing its replication than those who got a placebo." 
Maxine Waters (D - California) said that President Obama has compiled a secret database. "The President has put in place an organization with the kind of database that no one has ever seen before in life," Representative Maxine Waters told journalist Roland Martin on Monday. "That database will have information about everything on every individual on ways that it's never been done before and whoever runs for President on the Democratic ticket has to deal with that. They're going to go down with that database and the concerns of those people because they can't get around it. And he's [President Obama] been very smart. It's very powerful what he's leaving in place." 
Conservative Televangelist Pat Robertson makes waves again by blaming women for their cheating husbands. The host of the 700 Club told a viewer who wrote in for advice on how to forgive her cheating husband was not at fault because that is what men do and to focus on the positives he does for her and her family. . "Recognize also, like it or not, males have a tendency to wander a little bit, what you want to do is make a home so wonderful that he doesn't want to wander" or become "captured" by the "salacious" magazine images and Internet pornography.

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Feminists at "Law and Disorder" conference attacked by Trans activists for selling books

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There is an ideological feud brewing between "radical feminist" and transsexual activist. Daisy writes that there is an "ongoing ideological brawl/feud between radical feminists (whom the Trans call 'radscum') and the trans activists, whom the radical feminists will not call by their chosen genders. This feud has been personally bothering me for years (decades) and getting worse, as there are now many more visible trans people than ever and they are becoming more politically active and 'out'--we now see the whole trans politics thing as becoming an article of faith."

Representative Steve Cohen (D -Tennessee) made headlines for calling out the Obama administration on its continued prosecution of the Drug War and pointed out to AG Eric Holder that since the crack cocaine sentencing reduction, the thousands who are incarcerated under old drug laws have not had their sentences commuted by President Obama. In related news, Green Party 2012 presidential candidate Jill Stein called on the Obama administration to read a report by the Green Shadow Cabinet Justice Branch titled "“The Voters of Colorado and Washington Provide a Path to End the War-on-Marijuana Quagmire.”

In recent days news broke that the Justice Department had secretly obtain the cell phone records of AP writers and editors which had critics making comparisons to the Nixon Watergate scandal. On a radio show yesterday, Congressman Devin Nunes (R-California) said that he was sure that the DOJ seized the phone records of the US House of Representatives’ Cloak Room. According to Wikipedia, "The United States Congress' cloakrooms are how the parties interact with the member of Congress while they are on the floor, and are used by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The cloakrooms serve as a place for members to socialize, eat, and take naps without leaving the building. These rooms are closed to all except for Senators and Representatives, and a few of their trusted staffers, and even have their own phone numbers."

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Documents prove FBI targeted the Occupy Movement

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While COINTELPRO has been dismissed as a thing of the past, new documents reportedly prove that the FBI was involved in repressing the Occupy Movement just as it had targeted Black Nationalists and other leftist organizations of in the 60s, 70s and 80s. The document "shows a terrifying network of coordinated DHS, FBI, police, regional fusion center, and private-sector activity so completely merged into one another that the monstrous whole is, in fact, one entity: in some cases, bearing a single name, the Domestic Security Alliance Council."

 People have long been pointing out the militarization of police in the United States but according to a Long Island Press report, "By making a few subtle changes to a regulation in the U.S. Code titled “Defense Support of Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies” the Pentagon "has quietly granted itself the ability to police the streets without obtaining prior local or state consent, upending a precedent that has been in place for more than two centuries."

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The Benghazi Affair

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Today we are joined in studio by Tammi Hart to discuss recent changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in South Carolina.

The Republican Congress seems fixated on making the killing of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, President Obama's Monica Lewinsky affair. The I-word (impeachment) has been mentioned in relation to alleged lies concerning Benghazi but former Republican and presidential candidate Ron Paul calls the line of questioning a "side-show" and that the real reason the Americans are dead is intervention foreign policy. An article that appeared on the Atlantic is raising the issue of why the CIA's involvement at the US consulate in Benghazi is not being discussed. In related news, the situation in Libya has gotten so bad that two US military "elite" units have been placed on standby for possible deployment.

As if the Obama administration does not have enough problems over Benghazi and the IRS targeting conservative groups, it now has another high profile issue to deal with in the seizing of cell phone records of Associated Press reporters. The Associated Press is accusing the Obama administration of undermining an "independent press" that the President had recently described as a pillar of a democratic society.

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IRS targeted more than just Tea Party groups

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Conservative politicians and groups are angry that the Internal Revenue Service has been targeting "Tea Party" groups that sought 501(c) (4) status but CNN is reporting that "The IRS also applied extra scrutiny to applicants with statements that "criticize how the country is run" or that sought to educate the public on how to "make America a better place to live" -- designations that would have included conservative political groups". The extra scrutiny of these organizations has been deemed political attacks by the Obama administration. However, during the Bush administration, the IRS targeted All Saints Episcopal Church for an anti-war sermon delivered by the church’s former rector Rev. George F. Regas in 2004 in which he stated that Jesus would have told Bush, “Mr. President, your doctrine of preemptive war is a failed doctrine. Forcibly changing the regime of an enemy that posed no imminent threat has led to disaster.”
The Health Care Reform Act aka Obama Care is being criticized because it will use among other sources, flawed data from consumer credit reporting agencies to determine the eligibility of persons enrolling in the program. The application for the insurance asks for income information and threatens the individual with perjury penalties if they provide inaccurate data. In February this year, CBS's 60 Minutes reported that a government study indicated as many as 40 million Americans have a mistake on their credit report and that twenty million have significant mistakes.
Texas student Jeff Bliss is enjoying a bit of Internet celebrity when a video of his rant against his Duncanville High School teacher in which he accused her of not caring if students learn or not. Bliss was upset that students in his class were given only two days to complete a series of test that take three days. He accused the teacher of just coming to school to collect a paycheck without caring if students learned anything or not.

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South Carolina officially observes Confederate Memorial Day

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We are joined in studio today by Eric of Another Voice with Eric and Friends and community activist Rev. Jack Logan of "Put Down Your Guns, Young People".

Nine states, all in the South, celebrate Confederate Memorial Day on different days. On May 10th every year, North and South Carolina take their turn to officially celebrate Confederate Memorial Day, which is described as a day to honor those who died fighting for the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. The nine states that officially observe Confederate Memorial Day are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. One of Daisy's ancestors, Thomas Hatcher, was conscripted into the Confederate Army would become a Conscientious Objector and refused to fight.

As the so-called "Gang of Eight" Senate members will have their immigration reform proposals taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Heritage Foundation, a lobbying "think tank" is distancing itself from the author of its report on immigration reform. Jason Richwine is under scrutiny for the racist remarks he made concerning non-white people not being able to "assimilate" into America culture like early European immigrants. At another lobbying "think tank", the American Enterprise Institute held an immigration forum in 2008 where Richwine said that Hispanics and blacks are intellectually inferior to whites.

Richwine told the panel "We have blacks, we have American Indians and even early Mexican Americans who have been living in the country for a long time and have not assimilated to the cultural mainstream as typified by white Americans".

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Rush Limbaugh blames Obama and welfare for Cleveland kidnappings

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We are joined in studio today by Eric Holloway. Eric has had a number of health views and we want his views on Nikki Haley and state Republicans pushing for criminalization of the implementation of the Health Care Reform Act.

Rush Limbaugh connects President Obama and welfare recipients to the Cleveland kidnappings.

Neighbors in the community where the Cleveland kidnapping victims were found, blame Cleveland police several times about suspicious activity at the house. Could ignored tips to police be helping to allow human trafficking in your community?

The Boston Marathon Bombing continues to reveal mistakes by law enforcement to talk to each other about suspects. The Boston Police department says the FBI should have alerted them of Russia's tip to the FBI about one of the bombing suspects  
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Did Amanda Berry rescue herself or did she receive help from Charles Ramsey?

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Green Party congressional candidate Eugene Platt called in to discuss the South Carolina's 1st district congressional race.

There has been a media storm on the great story from Cleveland, Ohio where 3 women and a child were rescued from bondage as victims of sexual human trafficking. Lots of attention is being paid to Charles Ramsey, the neighbor who heard Amanda Berry screaming in her attempt to escape from the house she and others were being held captive. Ramsey kicked in a door to help free the women and called police but the Cleveland Police are saying Amanda Berry rescued herself,

In South Carolina politics, people are scratching their heads over the election of Former SC Governor Mark Sanford to the seat for the 1st Congressional District. He beat Democratic challenger Elizabeth Colbert-Busch and Green Party Eugene Platt.

March Against Monsanto-Greenville was planning an upcoming  march to protest against the genetic engineering giant. Today it was learned that the related permit to assemble at the county square has been denied.
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"They Live" subliminal to start sending messages to children

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We are joined in the studio by guest host Sheila Jackson of the Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America organization.

GIZMODO is reporting that a "Spanish organization called the Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk Foundation, or ANAR for short, created an ad that displays a different message for adults and children at the same time". The visual deception is designed to tell abused children to contact a number like 911 to get help or ask someone to help. But could the ads also be used to tell children things like "ask mommy to buy you a Big Mac?"

Russia Today's english division of its news reports that "Islamic radicals" in Afghanistan and Pakistan is appealing to "Muslims of the world" to hack American drones that are raining death from above at an alarming rate. Russia Today also reported in June 2012 that President Obama admitted drone strikes kill innocent people.

Today South Carolina voters went to the polls to decide who will win the 1st District Congressional seat in a special election between Mark Sanford and Elizabeth Colbert Busch. We will try to update listeners on any polling data that becomes available.

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Israel accused of using chemical weapons on Syria

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Today we will be joined Mr. Paul Kriese. He was a professor on campus when the killings took place at Kent State. The Kent State shootings aka the Kent State massacre occurred at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, involving the shooting of unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970.
It is being reported by Yahoo News among others, "that U.N. human rights investigators have gathered testimony from casualties of Syria's civil war and medical staff indicating that the rebel forces” backed by the U.S. government and several of its Gulf Arab state allies have used the nerve agent sarin and not the Syrian government as was pushed all last week by members of the U.S. government and the Israelis. President Obama called the use of chemical weapons a “game changer” if it was determined the Syria government used the weapons but it is not known if the game changing rule applies to rebel forces.
In related news, several news agencies are reporting that Israel, in its second strike in as many days, used Depleted Uranium munitions on a facility inside Syria causes many casualties. Depleted Uranium weapons are made from depleted enriched uranium used in nuclear reactors but a stronger alloy than steel. While some argue that is DU munitions are not radioactive, none dispute they are very toxic and could be classified as chemical weapons. Some headlines are classifying it as a nuclear attack on the Syrian government, which has been engaged in a long civil war with rebel factions.

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Catch us in the Upstate of SC on 105.7FM & 910AM on your drive at 5pm.

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Rapper sexually assaulted on stage?

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An article on the Huffington Post speculates on whether or not rapper Danny Brown was sexually assaulted on stage when a fan performed oral sex on him in full view of other fans in the front row. Another performer who is the opening act for Brown says that the incident was "an actual sexual assault" and there was nothing the rapper could do. However, Philly.com reports that Brown bragged about not missing a bar while it was occurring in a tweet to another rapper who asked him about if it was true. The police are not involved at this point but do you think both parties should be charged with public indecency or is this acceptable behavior in today's society?
Heavy machinery, high capacity generators and substandard construction materials were largely responsible for the Bangladesh garment factory collapse that led to over 500 deaths and counting including thousands of injuries according to an inquiry by the Bangladesh government. However, Bangladesh's finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said the collapse of a garment factory building was not "really serious," and he is "not worried" that it cause foreign garment retailers to leave the country. Pope Francis condemned the working conditions on Wednesday and said it was "slave labor". Reuters reported "Living on 38 Euros ($50) a month - that was the pay of these people who died. That is called slave labor," Francis said in a private impromptu sermon at his personal morning Mass in his residence. 
In Montana last month in an underreported story, 559 pounds of explosives were stolen from U.S. Forest Service storage bunker about two miles south of Red Lodge. The ATF is offering a $5,000 dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of responsible parties. Items stolen from the bunker include emulsion-type explosives, explosive cast boosters and detonating cord.

Call the show at 864-751-0115 or toll free 864-751-0116, Listen By Phone: 1-724-444-7444 Call ID 124529# Get the smartphone App for Iphone & Android from our audio blog.

Catch us in the Upstate of SC on 105.7FM & 910AM on your drive at 5pm.

To advertise on the show email Gregg: info@occupythemicrophone.com

School to Prison pipeline evident in Florida student's arrest?

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Today the Occupy The Microphone crew will be joined by guest hosts Jim Heenehan, former student body president at USC Upstate and human rights activist and broadcaster Efia Nwangaza.
Youth advocate Larry Lazarre-White of The Brotherhood/Sister Sol appeared on a MSNBC last night lamenting the recent arrest of 16 yr-old student Kiera Wilmot for what is being called a failed experiment for a science project. The student was sitting outside by a lake on school campus when she foolishly mixed household chemicals in a small water bottle that caused a small firecracker like explosions that produced smoke. The school principle who investigated the incident said there was no malicious intent involved and that Kiera had never been in trouble before. Mr. Lazarre-White said that the student's arrest on felony charges and the intent to try her as an adult represents the school to prison pipeline in America.
We have discussed on a past program the damage caused by US government funded humanitarian organizations being used as tools by US intelligence services. The issue has arisen again with the Bolivian President Evo Morales stating that he is expelling the U.S. Agency for International Development for allegedly meddling and conspiring against the government and people of Bolivia.
Former Governor and would be President hopeful Mitt Romney told students in a commencement speech at Southern Virginia University, a large Mormon school to "Get married, have a quiver full of kids if you can." Many students from the school had volunteered for Romney's presidential campaign.

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Catch us in the Upstate of SC on 105.7FM & 910AM on your drive at 5pm.

To advertise on the show email Gregg: info@occupythemicrophone.com

Colbert Busch "goes there" with Mark Sanford

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In a debate in the race for South Carolina's 1st District, Democrat Elizabeth Colbert-Busch brings up former Republican Governor Mark Sanford's use of taxpayer funds to visit his mistress in Argentina.

The environmental disasters just keep occurring in the United States, from pipeline oil spills, plants blowing up in Texas and Michigan, radio active fracking waste setting of alarms to now millions of gallons of raw sewage into the French Broad River in Buncombe County, NC.
16 yr-old Student Kiera Wilmot of Florida has been charged as an adult for what prosecutors are calling a bomb plot. However, the school principle and others are calling it a science experiment gone awry and not a sinister plot to blow up a class room where no one was hurt.

Call the show at 864-751-0115 or toll free 864-751-0116, Listen By Phone: 1-724-444-7444 Call ID 124529# Get the smartphone App for Iphone & Android from our audio blog.

Catch us in the Upstate of SC on 105.7FM & 910AM on your drive at 5pm.

To advertise on the show email Gregg: info@occupythemicrophone.com