President

Barack Obama yesterday began a historic, three-day visit to Cuba—the

first by a U.S. president in 88 years, and the result of Obama’s

diplomatic effort, which he began in December 2014, to normalize

relations with Cuba since U.S.-imposed isolationist hostilities in 1959.

Also

yesterday, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, considered the

most powerful and influential lobbying group for Israel, began its

three-day 2016 policy conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention

Center in Washington, D.C. All presidential candidates, with the

exception of Bernie Sanders, are slated to address the group.

Both

events, fraught with implications for U.S. foreign policy, are

receiving intense media attention, practically equating the weight and

importance of both events. The tone of coverage, however, differs

markedly. Leid Stories explains why.

It’s time to defrag, time to put the week into proper perspective. That’s what we do on Leid Stories’ “Free Your Mind Friday.”

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your thoughts, opinions and ideas about things that mattered this

week—or about anything that warrants further discussion and/or debate.

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They are “front runners” in the 2016 presidential race, having racked up impressive wins in the primaries and caucuses held thus far. But that doesn’t mean people like them. Even after their partisan Super Tuesday sweeps, a Gallup poll shows 53 percent of Americans dislike Hillary Clinton, and an even greater number, 63 percent, have a similar view of Donald Trump.Yet Clinton and Trump keep winning. Will the Ick Factor be their undoing?

No surprise, really, in how things turned out yesterday--Donald Trump triumphed in three of five states, Florida, Illinois and North Carolina; Marco Rubio lost his own state and ended his campaign; Ted Cruz remained win less but is hoping to capture Rubio’s supporters in a long shot bid to remain in the race; and John Kasich scored his first victory, his home state of Ohio.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton bested her lone opponent, Bernie Sanders, in four states—Florida, Illinois, Ohio and North Carolina—with the final vote in Missouri too close to call.

As Leid Stories said yesterday, Super Tuesday “more than likely will cause a whittling of the GOP’s four-man slate, and on the Democratic side, a locked lead on being the nominee.” With Clinton appearing to have that locked lead on the Democratic nomination, the question becomes: “What Will Bernie Do?”

It’s Super Tuesday

(the third for this election cycle), and Democratic and Republican

presidential candidates are in make-or-break primaries in delegate-rich

Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina. Results by the end

of the day more than likely will cause a whittling of the GOP’s

four-man slate, and on the Democratic side, a locked lead on being the

nominee.

Leid Stories continues yesterday’s discussion on what this all means to and for the rest of us.

William Blum, publisher of The Anti-Empire Report,

author of several books on U.S. foreign policy, and an expert on U.S.

covert operations, discusses the tragic consequences of Hillary

Clinton’s foreign-policy initiatives as secretary of state.

Leid

Stories takes on the hypocrisy and deliberate effort, particularly by

the media and the political establishment, to re-cast what happened at

Donald Trump’s rally in Chicago last Friday.

No Herd Mentality Here! Join

our growing community of non-herd-mentality thinkers who gather weekly

at this popular meeting place to trade in information, opinions and

ideas. It’s “Free Your Mind Friday” on Leid Stories, and your views on matters that affect us all are the star of the show. Call in (888-874-4888) and let your star light shine!

A contentious Clinton-Sanders square off in Miami last night, their fourth match up as the remaining Democratic presidential candidates, brought to a close the televised QA sessions the party scheduled. A four-way bruiser among the Republican candidates still standing—Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich—takes place tonight, also in Miami, and will be the party’s 12th and final “debate” for the primary season.

How have these events, the primaries held thus far, and the candidates themselves shaped our opinions about the political process, the 2016 presidential election, the direction of the country, and individual choices and actions? Listeners offer their views.

Election 2016: The Michigan Mashup and Other Political Anomalies

Leid

Stories and listeners dissect the results of the March 8 primaries and

caucuses in Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan and Mississippi, paying particular

attention to Bernie Sanders’ win in Michigan.

Election 2016: The Duopoly’s Self-Inflicted Wounds Are A Timely Gift

The

2016 presidential primaries continue apace, with contests in Hawaii,

Idaho, Michigan and Mississippi today that will put Democratic and

Republican front runners even closer to their goal of winning

nomination. But there’s trouble—big trouble—in both camps that largely

are self-inflicted wounds and the consequences of a fundamentally

undemocratic process. The duopoly’s crisis is a gift we’ve been waiting

for, says Leid Stories, and we should make the most of it.