Lewis Thomas was stopped by Spartanburg County sheriff's deputies on a traffic violation. He was arrested and his car was searched and a pound and a half of white powder was found. A drug field test was done and Thomas was arrested and charged with distributing cocaine but there is a twist to this story. Tune in to Occupy The Microphone for this and more live at five!
HSBC bank managers admitted to laundering billions in drug money, paid a fine and received no prison time. A "Bit coin" dealer faces prison time for the same offense on a smaller scale. What kind of justice system allows big banksters to walk while sending small time players to prison? Tune in today Live at Five to Occupy The Microphone as they discuss this and more. Sponsored in part by Yellow Mama Music.
In the 1980s the Reagan administration began to push the War on Drugs to a new level. Since then the US inmate population has exploded at a huge cost. Corporations world wide use inmate labor to produce goods and services. Tune in today as we explore this issue and more on Occupy The Microphone joined by the hosts of New Abolitionists Radio! Sponsored in part by Yellow Mama Music.
Tens of thousands are imprisoned in federal prisons for pot possession with scarce tax dollars spent to keep them there. President Obama has said that it is important for legalization to move forward. Legal and regulated in two states, and legal for medicinal purposes in 20 states, Tune in as Occupy The Microphone takes on reefer madness live at five. Sponsored in part by Yellow Mama Music.
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!
Republicans are still fighting old battles and are threatening to shut down the federal government just to defund so-called "Obamacare". The President recently took them to task for having an "Ideological Fixation" on defunding the Affordable Care Act.
With the US government stepping up its drone attacks on suspected Al Qaeda members in Yemen, Ron Paul asked the question on whether or not the United States is creating more militants than they are killing. He also said the "U.S. is sending mixed signals by attacking al-Qaeda in Yemen while supporting al-Qaeda linked rebels fighting in Syria."
Attorney General Eric Holder said the US Justice Department is altering its drug war policy and pushing the removal of mandatory sentences in drug cases. However, some critics say that reducing the amount of time that non-violent so-called drug offenders spend in prison does nothing to slow down the rate of mass incarceration and that an end of drug prohibition is the only logical solution. Last year, members of the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition delivered a letter to AG Eric Holder urging the Obama administration to respect state laws that legalize and regulate marijuana.
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DOWNLOAD MP3 Guest: Local entrepreneur Carolyn Bourassa joins us today to discuss Natural Choice Apothecary. Ulrich and Carolyn are the brains and brawn behind The Natural Choice Apothecary. They are a crunchy, vegan, hippie family that makes an assortment of organic bath & body products. They are also involved with a local domestic abuse shelters and want to tell you how you can help them "Pay It Forward" with their fundraising efforts.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives which is supposed to be enforcing the nation's gun laws is being accused of enticing over 1,000 individuals to commit drug related crimes with promises of a huge payoff. Undercover agents seek out individuals with prior low-level criminal convictions and entice them to participate in plots to rob non-existence drug houses. Some prosecutors have refused to participate in these operations and judges state the expensive sting operations border on entrapment and have resulted in several suspects being killed.
The Kurds in Syria have tried to stay out of the war, but Al Qaeda seems determined to punish them and force them to get involved. Al Qaeda is said to bombing entire Kurdish villages, men, women and children. US allies, the Turks are more than likely thrilled to see genocide practiced against the Kurds. Al Qaeda weapons are being supplied by the Syria opposition who in turn are being supplied by the US and Europe. How can we support the opposition while simultaneously demanding justice for Kurds?
JP Morgan Chase is facing criminal and civil investigations related to allegations that they defrauded investors with shoddy mortgage securities. The United States attorney’s office for the Eastern District of California has “preliminary concluded” that JPMorgan Chase flouted federal laws with its sale of sub-prime mortgage securities from 2005 to 2007. Skeptics doubt if the bank, like many other banks, will face true justice. Other investigations have not resulted in any prosecutions of bank officers and one commentator says these "criminal investigations" will amount to nothing more than insignificant punishments and petty fines will be levied after no-contest pleas have been negotiated to protect the guilty. If the federal regulators were serious, top-level individuals would have already been prosecuted, finance monopolies would have been broken up and Congress would have already reinstated Glass-Steagle.
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Get the smartphone App for iPhone & Android from our audio blog Catch us in the Upstate of SC on 105.7FM & 910AM To advertise on the show email Gregg: info@occupythemicrophone.com
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes dealt what is considered back-to-back wins for city of Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr following a two-hour hearing at a packed courthouse. A lot is at stake in Detroit and workers and retirees are fighting to keep their pensions. The rulings issued by Judge Rhodes are said to allow the bankruptcy to proceed without being bogged down in lawsuits in state courts.
The first wave of school closings have happened in Chicago and like Detroit pension holders there are no federal bail outs forthcoming. While schools are being closed in Chicago, the federal government is thinking about the future of the children as the US Senate quietly approved $166 million to reactivate Thomson prison and two other prisons in the state of Illinois.
Speaking of Federal prisons, despite the US government, US courts and even at one time the current US president argued that the crack cocaine vs. powder disparities in sentencing were grossly unfair and racists in their application, the US Justice department is fighting to keep mostly poor Black people locked up under the unfair and racist sentencing guidelines . "On 17 May 2013, the US court of appeals for the sixth circuit held that the new, "fair" sentences must be applied to all those previously sentenced under laws that everyone acknowledges were discriminatory." So why is the US Justice Department seeking to keep these men and women in prison and overturn the courts decision?
Call the show at 864-751-0115 or 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
To advertise on the show email Gregg: info@occupythemicrophone.com
