With the Republican Primary for US Senate only a few months away, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is slipping in the polls and at least three Republican upstarts are chomping at the bit to take his job. Graham has been beating on the Obama administration, using the Benghazi tragedy as a club. Will that be enough to hold on to his cushy job in Congress?
Also, in May 2013 after protesting a sting operation targeting sex workers in Phoenix known as "Project ROSE," transgender rights activist Monica Jones was falsely arrested for "manifestation of prostitution" as part of the sting. Is this tactic something we can expect to happen again as the powers that be continue to crack down on protest of any sort?
HSBC Bank, says that the world's coal, oil and natural gas may be over valued by as much as 60%. This is because the air we breathe can only handle so much pollution, and burning all that fossil fuel will put us over the edge. So why are we drilling in the Arctic ocean, building pipelines across the nation and fracking the ground beneath our feet?
Although there has been scant coverage from the US based corporate media, a Congressional hearing on America’s drone warfare abroad took place today in Washington, DC which featured victims from Pakistan who put a face and voice to those commonly referred to as “collateral damage”. This follows sixteen-year-old Nobel Peace Prize nominee Malala Yousafzai visit to the White House a few weeks ago where she asked President Obama to stop the drone strikes in her country. Representative Alan Grayson, a Democrat out of Florida, organized the hearing.
In local news, Republican South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley plans to continue violating campaign ethics laws in the state.
This news and more today as we Occupy The Microphone!
"By the end of World War II the United States had created a world wide network of spies to fight Communism. When the 9-11 attacks happened, Congress passed new laws, which led to the surveillance of most of the people on Earth. Like other whistle blowers have done for decades, Jeremy Hammond stood up and objected. Now he faces years behind bars for his actions.
Over the weekend, an estimated 5,000 people assembled in Washington, DC and demanded an end to the U.S. National Security Agency's mass surveillance programs. Chants of "stop spying, stop lying" and "hey, ho, mass surveillance has got to go," where heard as the large crowds marched through the nation’s capital. Members of the groups Fight for the Future and Restore the Fourth delivered a petition with more than 575,000 signatures, which called on Congress to investigate the NSA surveillance programs. The signatures were delivered to Representative Justin Amash, a Michigan Republican and an outspoken critic of the NSA surveillance programs.
Guest: Sue Crabtree, a member of the Jeremy Hammond Solidarity Network.
When radical Republican leaders pushed an anti-voter agenda in North Carolina people cried out in protest. Now a leader of the Tarheel GOP has admitted on late night TV that kicking Black folks off the voter rolls was the plan all along. What will happen now that the cat is out of the bag?
This news and more today on Occupy The Microphone!
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This week we reported on teen Erin Cox punished for stopping another underage teen from drinking and driving and now a photograph has surfaced of Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler standing in the middle of a teen party in Delaware where underage drinking was occurring. In deflecting critics that he did not do anything, Gansler said, "My responsibility is only to my child. … Everybody has their own moral compass. Mine is to raise my own child."
In other news, radioactive water spills in South Carolina and doors to nuclear weapon silos were left open while one of the soldiers with his finger on the trigger slept. In both cases we are told everything turned out OK. Is that true? Join us today Live at Five on Occupy the Microphone!
Special guest Yolanda Johnson and Mary Olson of NIRS joins us today!
President Obama is embarrassed to say the least about the glitches associated with the Affordable Care Act website and has taken a lot of heat and jeering over it. Some in the right-wing political camp use the failed Obamacare rollout as an example of big socialist government falling on its face but what they are not discussing is the private company CGI Group, which produced the defective product to the tune of over $400 million dollars!
In other news, can NYPD officers itching to make drug arrests not tell the difference between crystal meth and Jolly Ranchers candy or peppermint candy and crack cocaine?
This news and more as we Occupy The Microphone on WOLI!
In 1954, the Supreme Court ended racial segregation in our schools. In 1959, a Jacksonville Florida high school was named after Nathan Bedford Forrest a plantation owner and enslaved African trader. During the Civil War, Forrest was accused of war crimes against captured Union troops and after the war would become the first grand dragon of the Klu Klux Klan, which he would deny in order to further his political career. Members of the Jacksonville, Florida community are demanding the name of the school be changed. Will the school board change the name and stop honoring this despicable man? Tune in today for this story and more on Occupy the Microphone!
Special guest Efia Nwangaza joins us in studio today to discuss the National Day of Protest to Stop Police Violence.
A high school punishes an honor student who did not let a friend drive drunk. Erin Cox picked up a fellow student who called her for a ride after getting drunk at a party and when high-school authorities found out, Erin was punished for not allowing a friend to attempt to drive home drunk. No good deed goes unpunished! For a discussion on this story and more, tune in today to Occupy The Microphone!
We will be joined in studio by special guest Liz Smith-Anderson.
Canadian Mounties clash with Indians over fracking, whistle blower Edward Snowden says he did not give Russia and China secrets, Fukishima water 6500 times more radioactive than before, and South Carolina spends 47 million dollars to build an "Inland port" in Spartanburg County. A lot to cover today on Occupy The Microphone!
Lincoln freed the slaves, right? Then why does the Walk Free Foundation say there are close to 60,000 people enslaved in the US today? Who are they and who is enslaving them? Does this number include inmates in jails forced to work for pennies a day? That and so much more today Live at Five on Occupy The Microphone here on The Source.
The government in Washington may be shut down, but we're in the middle of election season here in the Upstate. Join us today Live at Five as we hear from former Congresswoman Liz Patterson about a candidate forum planned for Spartanburg County candidates. That and so much more today on Occupy The Microphone, here on The Source.
We've marched against Monsanto and GMOs, and now there is a March Against Corruption. How does corruption impact your life? What can we do about it? Join Lou Leo and Matt Benzion to talk about the groups people over politics and the March Against Corruption.
In local news, an severely autistic Greenville county student was suspended after he drew a picture of a bomb similar to the one Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented in a UN speech earlier this year and then there are those darn Acme bombs often seen in Warner Brother's cartoons.
The Pakistani girl who was shot in the head on her school bus last year allegedly by Taliban militants made an unannounced visit to the White House last week to meet President Obama. In a prepared statement, Malala Yousafzai brought up the issue of US drone attacks in her country, which has killed thousands of people including hundreds of children.
"I thanked President Obama for the United States' work in supporting education in Pakistan and Afghanistan and for Syrian refugees," she said in the statement. "I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fueling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people. If we refocus efforts on education it will make a big impact."
In local news, the State of South Carolina gave a two million dollar grant to Daimler Trucks to purchase land in York County at Lake Wylie in 2008. The company announced that it would be offering the land bought with the grant for sale.
Has the Boeing Dreamliner turned into a nightmare for South Carolina? Seduced into locating in South Carolina by low taxes and government giveaways, the new plane continues to have serious problems and now the man behind the Dreamliner has resigned. The plant was temporarily shutdown because of the government shutdown but after “key” FCC personnel were called back to the job, the plant has resumed work.
A Columbia, South Carolina man who shot and killed an unarmed teen escaped prosecution and given immunity under the state’s "Stand Your Ground" law. In 2010, 17 yr-old Darrell Niles was shot and killed while travelling in his vehicle by Shannon Scott. Scott claimed that he afraid for his life after several women followed his 15 yr-old daughter from a nightclub and allegedly fired shots at the Scott family home from the SUV they were travelling in. Niles was travelling in a separate vehicle and not involved in the alleged attack by the women after Scott’s daughter. Circuit Judge Maite Murphy ruled this week that Scott be granted immunity because “When the defendant fired the shot, he reasonably believed he was being attacked with deadly force directed at his home,”.
The Raleigh Police Department sent undercover officers to spy on the planning meetings of the North Carolina NAACP, which has been leading protests over laws passed by Republicans in the state, which they say, is damaging to public education, working class people and voting rights. Raleigh Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown confirmed that her department did indeed send one undercover officer to two different Moral Monday meetings held at the Davie Street Presbyterian Church on May 6 and May 13.
Spying on groups engaged in political action harkens back to the days of COINTELPRO where the FBI and local police employed undercover spies to infiltrate organizations to squash political dissent.
"The purpose of the officer’s presence was to determine how many people were expecting to be arrested to allow the department to gauge the sufficiency of the logistical support, such as transport vehicles, available at the Legislative Building," Police Chief Deck-Brown said.
Reporter Kevin Gosztola will tell us about spies in the pulpit today on Occupy the Microphone.
This news and possibly more on your news source for the 99%. To advertise contact us at info@occupythemicrophone.com
Many federal offices are closed because Congress has yes to pass a budget funding the government. Real people right here in the Upstate of South Carolina and across the nation are being hurt. Will Congress and the President reach an agreement? Do you want them to negotiate, should the President and Democrats stand firm in keeping the Affordable Care Act of the table or do you prefer the shut down? Tune in today to Occupy the Microphone and lets talk about it.
This and possibly more news for the 99%! To advertise contact us at info@occupythemicrophone.com
Democrats accuse the Nikki Haley administration of stacking the deck against South Carolina businesses while a blogger accuses her of pressuring the state ethics commission. Is Nikki Haley a teflon Governor or are the democrats just so bad at politics that Haley will win despite her failings? A full hour of Haleyating today Live at Five on Occupy the Microphone.
Rick Brundrett of the SC Policy Council is reporting that the state Ethics Commission may have violated the law. The commission destroyed a letter they had prepared demanding Nikki Haley's campaign reimburse the state for her use of taxpayer funded transportation to a political event. Is this the most transparent administration South Carolina has ever had, or one of the most corrupt?
Syria is earning praise from an official helping to oversee the destruction of the country’s chemical weapons stockpile. US Secretary of State John Kerry said, “I think it is extremely significant that yesterday, Sunday, within a week of the resolution being passed, some chemical weapons were already being destroyed,".
Campaign finance, affirmative action, legislative prayer, recess appointments by the President and abortion clinic protests are all cases on the Supreme Court’s docket as it begins a new term today. Court watchers say that this is an opportunity for the court’s conservative majority to “undo limits on campaign contributions, undermine claims of discrimination in housing and mortgage lending, and allow for more government-sanctioned prayer.”
In government shutdown news, the Republican majority House of Representatives passed a bill that would retroactively pay workers once the shutdown ends. Currently there is no end in sight to the shutdown pay furlough federal government as the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party insists on making defunding the Affordable Care Act its primary goal in the budget impasse with the President and the Senate that is controlled by Democrats.
*Breaking - Miriam Carey reportedly was taking medication for schizophrenia.
Speculation abounds in the case Miriam Carey, a 34-year-old mother and dental hygienist from Stamford, Connecticut who allegedly crashed through security barriers at the White House in Washington, DC and led police on car chase with her child on-board, which ended with an unarmed Carey being shot and killed by police while still sitting in her vehicle after coming to a stop after she hit a police cruiser. Questions are being asked on why Carey would engage in this type of behavior. Even though police initially said it was not an act of terrorism, a bomb squad has reportedly evacuated her condo and waiting on a warrant to enter and Carey’s mother says she was suffering post-partum depression after having her child. Many are questioning why deadly force was necessary to end this saga.
We have reported on the criminalization of the Affordable Care Act in the past on this program and South Carolina has taken another step towards this end. Reports indicate “The South Carolina state House passed a bill Wednesday that declares President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to be “null and void,” and criminalizes its implementation.”
Problems associated with Spartanburg county 9-1-1 services culminated in a letter from the “Spartanburg County Fire Chief's Association is urging staffing changes at the 911 communications department” according to a report by Groupstate.
*Breaking News - Shots fired as woman tries to ram White House gate putting the capital on lock down? Citizen angered by government shutdown, person with a mental defect or lone wolf terrorist?
The FBI recently announced the arrest of Ross William Ulbricht, a 29-year-old former physics student from San Francisco who allegedly built an online illegal drug market place call Silk Road which was referred to as the Ebay of the drug world. The FBI estimates the website did $1.2 billion in sales over the last three years.
The Affordable Care Act is at the center of the Republican initiated government shutdown causing thousands of workers to be furloughed and the reduction of vital services. Things could even worse if the Tea Party section of the Republican party controlling the House of Representatives plays the same game of political chicken with raising the debt limit.
Studio Guests: Efia Nwangaza and Liz Smith-Anderson from Rock Hill.
Yesterday a blogger and author by the name of J. L. Hardee published a post alleging that the Judge Daniel E Martin, Jr. of Charleston, SC is under investigation for not disclosing a possible prior relationship with Melanie Duncan Capobianco and her father, leading to possible bias in his ruling awarding custody to the Capobiancos over the child’s biological father Dusten Brown who is a member of Cherokee Nation. The post has been removed but another post by J. L Hardee says he has been getting death threats over his reports and he has removed all posts related to the adoption case but stands by his report.
Republican Sen. Tim Scott has a new challenger for his senate seat in upcoming elections. Richland County Councilwoman Joyce Dickerson on Monday announced her campaign and said `He was selected, not elected, and guess what? He has never run a statewide campaign''. Scott was appointed to the Senate in 2012 by Governor Nikki Haley after the Jim DeMint left to pursuer a position with a conservative think-tank. Dickerson is a Democrat. We have yet to hear back from Senator Scott’s staff after we put in a call concerning his position on Senate Bill 619 which seeks to reform mandatory minimum sentencing which many say unfairly impacts minorities.
Speaking of unfairness, yesterday we reported that two actors vacationing in South Carolina reported that they were racially profiled. Both have been telling their story to national media and taken to social media to bring attention to the issue of racial profiling. Cherie Johnson and Dennis White both appeared shaken by the ordeal with Johnson in tears as she described how she was in fear for their lives. Through Twitter the actress said she would like an apology and the deputy should be put on desk duty until he learns how to treat people.
Reports are surfacing that the Democratic Party is nearly broke and having trouble paying its bills. CNN finance reports, “The Democrats' numbers speak for themselves: Through August, 10 months after helping President Obama secure a second term, the DNC owed its various creditors a total of $18.1 million, compared to the $12.5 million cash cushion the Republican National Committee is holding.”
This news and possibly more today on Occupy The Microphone
The government shutdown went into effect at midnight and while most people lay the blame on Republicans, conservatives try to pin the blame on President Obama. South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley expressed frustration at both Democrats and Republicans in Washington, DC but she seemed to place the blame solely on the President for not negotiating with Republicans who want him to delay the Affordable Care Act, his signature piece of legislation passed in his first term and declared constitutional by the US Supreme Court.
Actors Dennis White and Cherie Johnson who was a child star on such sitcoms as “Family Matters” and “Punky Brewster” were vacationing recently in South Carolina and alleged that while stopping to reflect on slavery while parked on the side of the road of a cotton field, were racially profiled and handcuffed by a Marion County Deputy S. Barfield. The Deputy is also accused of lying about having warrant for the arrest of Cherie Johnson, perhaps in a move to intimidate the couple so they would consent to a drug search of the vehicle they were traveling in.
Governor Nikki Haley is being accused of practicing pay-to-play politics with recent appointments of campaign donors to several boards in South Carolina. She is also being accused of bleaching a couple of boards by removing Black members. According to the Post and Courier, “The South Carolina Democratic Party is criticizing Gov. Nikki Haley for replacing the only black member of The Citadel’s Board of Visitors with a white campaign donor.”
