Leid Stories

Free Your Mind! Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say!See who salutes when you run your insightful opinions and ideas up the Leid Stories’ “Free Your Mind Friday” flagpole. It’s the best open forum on the planet—a popular gathering place for the intellectually curious and politically aware. Unfurl your flag (call 888-874-4888). Let’s see your colors come shining through!

Mistrial in Freddie Gray Case in Baltimore; Chicago Cop Faces Murder Charges in 16-Shot KillingLeid Stories returns to its series on killer cops with major updates on two cases—the death last April of Freddie Gray, 25, a week after suffering severe spinal injuries while being transported to a Baltimore police stationhouse after a contentious arrest, and the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald on Oct. 20 last year by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke.A Baltimore judge declared a mistrial yesterday in the case against Officer William Porter, one of six officers charged in Gray’s death and the first to be tried, after a jury said it was hopelessly deadlocked in deciding four charges against him. In Chicago, Officer Van Dyke yesterday formally was charged with six counts of murder “The People’s Attorney General” Alton H. Maddox Jr., who had predicted that Porter would walk because of tactical and legal errors by the prosecutor, discusses legal problems with both cases.

Charades: What the Republican ‘Debate’ Proved About the MediaLeid Stories predicted that yesterday’s heavily marketed Republican QA, cohosted by CNN and Facebook, would focus on “terrorism and related issues—immigration, homeland security, ISIS and, of course, the “good” Muslims/”bad” Muslims racist canard.” And so it did. Today, Leid Stories expands on yesterday’s theme—the why of it all, and the media’s role in helping to create and propagate an alternate reality and narrative.

‘Terrorism’ Bolsters Republican ‘Debate’ and CNN’s Bid for Campaign Ad DollarsThe fifth—and, gratefully, last—Republican big-media QA (it’s not a debate) for 2015 airs tonight. Staged at The Venetian, the resort hotel and casino in Las Vegas, the QA is actually a two-parter—an undercard of four candidates who didn’t quite make the cut in the polls, and the main event featuring nine others who did. It shouldn’t surprise that “terrorism” and related issues—immigration, homeland security, ISIS and, of course, the “good” Muslims/”bad” Muslims racist canard—will dominate the discussion; it’s the kind of political hash that presidential hopefuls would feast upon and willingly share out to voters. But big media is after big money, and CNN gets to make the point tonight to all pols and parties concerned why it deserves the lion’s share of the $5 billion in campaign advertising industry analysts say is up for grabs in the 2016 election cycle, the costliest in U.S. history.

Pay Attention and Listen Up! We’re Talking Here!Heavy on-air traffic precluded lots of callers from having their say last week—even with an extra day of our weekly open forum. So, we pick up from where we left off on Friday, talking about what matters.

Get It Said! It’s ‘Free Your Mind Friday’ on Leid Stories!This news-crammed week makes for strong opinions. Got some you’d like to share about headline-grabbing stories? Call in (888-874-4888) to the world’s greatest open forum and have your say.

Listeners discuss the impact of the current political climate on their attitudes and world view.

Climate Change: Politics, the Media and the Mass Killings in San BernardinoLast Wednesday’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, in which a Muslim couple—Syed Rizwan Farook, 28 and his wife Tashfeen Malik, 29—killed 14 people and wounded 21 others attending a holiday party, has jarred the national consciousness.Leid Stories listeners analyze how the tragic event, which President Obama has called “an act of terrorism,” is shaping and changing their attitudes.

Justice Department Probes Chicago Police, But for ‘Reform,’ Not JusticeU.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch yesterday announced a Justice Department probe of the Chicago Police Department’s “patterns and practices,” especially regarding its police officers’ use of force, use of lethal force and racial disparities in both. The DOJ investigation comes almost two weeks after Officer Jason Van Dyke was indicted on first-degree-murder charges for killing Laquan McDonald, 17, in a hail of 16 bullets on Oct. 20, 2014, and on the same day that Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced that there will be no indictment of Officer George Hernandez, who shot and killed Ronald Johnson, 25, eight days prior to the McDonald shooting. Leid Stories discusses the DOJ investigation.

Obama’s Re-Renewed War on Guns and TerrorLast Wednesday’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif.—in which two shooters, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, killed 14 people and wounded 21 others at a holiday party before being killed in a shootout with police—was the focus of a national address by President Barack Obama last night. It was an act of terrorism, he said, and his administration is dealing resolutely with it, both domestically and in conjunction with U.S. allies. Leid Stories deconstructs the president’s speech.