#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Hunter Biden Rattles Republicans, VA's 1st Black Del. House Speaker Sworn In, N.C.'s $25M Settlement

Episode Date: January 11, 2024

1.10.2024 #RolandMartinUnfilteredL Hunter Biden Rattles Republicans, VA's 1st Black Del. House Speaker Sworn In, N.C.'s $25M Settlement Hunter Biden had Republican shook today as he strolled into the House Judiciary Committee hearing on him being held in contempt. We'll show you what the parties said during firey exchanges.  Virginia has its first black Delegate House Speaker. Don Scott was sworn in today. A federal appeals court says Florida Governor Ron DeSantis violated the First Amendment by removing state prosecutor Andrew Warren in 2022.   A North Carolina man who spent 44 years in prison for a rape he did not commit settles with the state and city of Concord for $25 million.  And my interview with Theresa Runstedtler, a Professor and Historian of Race and Sport at American University, about her book, "Black Ball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the Generation That Saved the Soul of the NBA."   You don't want to miss that conversation.  Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast.

Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. It really does.

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Today of January 10, 2024, coming up on Roller Martin on a filter, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Woo, Republicans are pissed off.

Hunter Biden stroll into today's committee hearing. They were angry, upset, but they did not call him to testify. Wait till we show you the various fiery exchanges. Also, Virginia got its first black Speaker of the House today when Don Scott was sworn in. He's only the second African-American to be the Speaker of the House in the South. A federal appeals court says Florida Governor Ron DeSantis violated the First Amendment of removing state prosecutor Andrew Warren in 2022.

Plus, a North Carolina man who spent 44 years in prison for a rape he did not commit settles with the state and the city of Concord for $25 million. Plus, I talked with the author of a book called Black Ball Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Spencer Haywood and the generation that saved the soul of the NBA. It's a conversation you do not want to miss. It's time to bring the funk. Roland Martin unfiltered with Life's Done Network. Let's go. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine And when it breaks, he's right on time And it's rolling, best belief he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks

He's rolling, yeah It's Uncle Roro, y'all Yeah, yeah It's rolling, Martin, yeah Yeah, yeah royal he's funky's fresh he's real the best you know he's rolling martin Oh, Lord, the House was on fire today when they had the Judiciary Committee to consider holding Hunter Biden in contempt. Well, guess what? Hunter Biden decided to stroll into the actual committee room. Man, Republicans were angry and upset, mad as all get out at this. Of course, they they have wanted him to testify, but they first wanted him to testify in private with a deposition and then go public.

He said, no, I will testify publicly. Well, they don't want that. They want. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. With guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone,

sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution.

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher.

Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real.

It really does. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to

Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. It to be private first and then come in. And boy, it got ugly. Even crazy in the rain. South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace. Oh, she was really upset. And she did. She actually used white privilege.

Listen to this. Chairman Comer, first of all, my first question is who brought Hunter Biden to be here today? That's my first question. Second question, you are the epitome of white privilege coming into the oversight committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls to come up here and— Mr. Chairman, point of inquiry. Mr. Chairman, if the gentlelady wants to hear from Hunter Biden, we can hear from him right now, Mr. Chairman.

Let's take a vote and hear from Hunter Biden. What are you afraid of? Are women allowed to speak in here? Hold on, hold on, hold on. Order, order, order. Are women allowed to speak in here or no? Are women allowed to speak in here? Hold on, hold on. Order, order, order. Are women allowed to speak in here or no? Are women allowed to speak in here or no? Order.

Because you keep interrupting me. I'll interrupt the chairman. You keep interrupting me. I don't know that he's a lady. I think that Hunter Biden should be arrested right here, right now, and go straight to jail. Our nation is founded on the rule of law. Come on, come on. And the premise that the law applies to you. You say let's send Hunter Biden to jail, yet Congressman Jim Jordan is sitting his ass right

there. He has ignored a subpoena for 608 days, but you don't want him to go to jail. Okay, got it. Well, you heard Congressman Moskowitz there, Jared Moskowitz, who was interrupting her. Here's also some of what he had to say. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's good to see you after a long break. So I'm listening to the gentlelady from South Carolina about the witness being afraid to come in front of the committee. It's interesting.

He's here. He doesn't seem to be too afraid. In fact, for some reason, the chairman, who on multiple occasions invited the witness to come on TV, apparently the chairman wants to pretend like his statements on television or in interviews don't matter,

but it didn't happen once. It didn't happen twice. It happened multiple times. The chairman said the witness can choose whether to come to a deposition or to a public hearing in front of the committee. The witness accepted the chairman's invitation. It just so happens the witness is here.

If the committee wants to hear from the witness and the chairman gave the witness that option, then the only folks that are afraid to hear from the witness with the American people watching are my friends on the other side of the aisle. I don't know. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the other side of the aisle. I don't know. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on,

why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company

dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute season one, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st

and episodes four, five, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King,

John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette.

MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

I hope there's a proper motion. All right, y'all. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Texas. Ooh, she really laid into the Republicans. We love the Constitution today, and we also want to talk about foreign money coming in. Have y'all seen the report that was just produced where this chairman decided that he was going to block this committee

from receiving additional information about y'all's guy, Trump, and all the money that he took. From what we did receive, we know that Trump got almost $6 million that we can account for, and we know that there's more there. From China specifically, we found almost $8 million total that he accepted from foreign governments while he was serving as the president of these United States. But we're concerned about the president's son, the president's son who has not been involved in his administration. I just want to run it back, though, to the very beginning, because this is something that I just can't get over. I can't get over the gentle lady from South Carolina talking about white privilege.

It was a spit in the face, at least of mine as a black woman, for you to talk about what white privilege looks like, especially from that side of the aisle. And let me quote your now ousted speaker and what he had to say about the Republican Party and y'all's lack of diversity. When you look at the Democrats, they actually look like America. When I look at my party, we look like the most restrictive country club in America. So let me tell you something. Y'all don't know what white privilege looks like, but I'm a show.

A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives.

But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1.

Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz

Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'll tell you a little bit of something. You see, you want to talk about a two-tier justice system, and this is the only time that y'all have ever referenced it, when this country has a history when it comes to black and brown folk, of having two separate sets of rules. And right now what you want to do is have two separate sets of rules because Mr. Moskowitz offered y'all a fair situation.

He said he would vote for Hunter to be held in contempt if y'all voted to hold, even if you remove all of the members of Congress, there's still other people that y'all haven't decided that y'all have excuses for, but y'all don't want to hold them in contempt. But for some reason, it makes sense to hold Hunter Biden in contempt, who has tried to comply. And let me tell you why nobody wants to talk to y'all behind closed doors, because y'all lie. That's just the bottom line.

You have done it thus far in this investigation. You have done it this far as it relates to this committee. In every single hearing, y'all spin, spin, spin. I don't know how y'all are still standing right now, because you should be quite dizzy from all the spinning that you're constantly doing when it comes to spinning the truth. You talk about free and fair elections, but you back a guy who we know tried to steal the election. And this isn't about what Democrats have to say. Let me remind you, for those of you that don't know how the justice system works,

it's not a matter of the president went in and indicted Trump, but we are talking about grand juries. Grand juries are comprised of American citizens and the people that have entered pleas of guilty that will be flipping on your leader in a minute they are Republicans. I do want to point that out and half of them were Republicans that were handpicked by Donald Trump himself. So to be clear whatever happens to your little leader it's going to be because of the actions that he took.

So you can talk all you want to about how January 6th was nonsense, but all of y'all were running at that time. Y'all were grabbing y'all's gas masks, and y'all were running to your offices because you didn't know if they were coming to kill you. You should have cared that somebody was there to protect you, but instead you want to play games because you found out that it was your leader that decided that he wanted to propagate an insurrection on our country. So

don't tell me that you care about the Constitution because you don't. All you care about is Trump getting reelected and I'll yield the last of my time to my leader. Thank you very much. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin.

And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms,

even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast.

We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne.

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things.

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Crockett for your eloquent and powerful and irrefutable... Now, the House Judiciary Committee did vote to formally recommend the full House hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena in the Republican impeachment inquiry into his father. Robert Petillo is host of People, Passion, Politics, W.A.O.K., 1380, out of Atlanta. Glad to have Robert on the show. Also on the show. Also on the show, we have Rebecca Carruthers, VP for Fair Election Center out of D.C.

to run Walker founder Context Media. I got a kick out of the whole deal. All the drama. I really loved Rebecca when Marjorie Taylor Greene was talking for her to speak. That's what hundreds of people decide to walk out. Boy, did she get all mad upset. They look like idiots. You can't keep yelling, testify, testify, testify, and he's sitting right there, but they wouldn't call. Just clowns. They're not there for any serious work of the country. They're there to score political points.

And even to see what they yelled at Hunter Biden in the hallway, I believe someone yelled at him, when's the last time you've taken crack, Hunter? I mean, just pure stupidity. You know, there's so much that's going on in this country where we actually need real leadership. There are many issues of national importance that the Congress could be working on, but these people don't care. They'd rather just be on the Hill and play games.

But you know what? When they play foolish games, they're going to get foolish prizes come November 2024. Robert, to see people complain about him not testifying, but he's sitting right there. Oh, no, no, no. The rules are you must testify in private first, do a deposition first. First of all, the moment he is sworn in, if he lies,

whether public or the deposition, that's perjury. Now, what they want to do is do a private deposition, leak selective comments on the deposition before they be a public one. We already know what this game is. Of course, and Hunter Biden, people forget that outside of the addiction issues, he's an Ivy League educated attorney who knows how these games are played. I think this is best put by our friend Pastor Darrell Scott, former pastor for President Trump or his African-American advisory board, Darrell Scott tweeted out, Hunter Biden showed up in Congress, unzipped his pants, pulled himself out, waved it around, gave all the Republicans a middle finger, and walked out sucking all the air out of the room.

I'm not on Hunter's side, but that was a G move right there. Even Republicans realize that the House Republicans are making absolute idiots out of themselves. And they've done this every single time they've done one of these Hunter Biden hearings. And the truth is that this is being driven by the far right wing of the Freedom Caucus and the Republican Party. Not even a majority of Republicans agree with going down this line of questioning, because this takes attention off of President Biden and reminds people how ridiculous the Republicans are right now. Republicans are opposing Mike Johnson, MAGA Mike, the hand-picked conservative speaker of

the House, because he cut almost the exact same deal with Schumer and President Biden to keep the government open. And now even Matt Gaetz and other Freedom Caucus members are going to have to decide whether or not they're going to fund the government or have another recall petition and potentially not have a speaker of the House again. This is all, as Rebecca said, on the backdrop of 25,000 dead Palestinians. And we're debating whether or not we're going to send aid, humanitarian aid, to help those people. On the backdrop of 500,000 dead Ukrainians, and we're debating whether or not we're going to send additional funds to try to bring an end to that conflict. Republicans love talking about the issues at the southern

border. President Biden requested $13.6 billion in October to deal with the issues at the southern border. That hasn't gotten a vote yet by Republicans in the House of Representatives, and they've not even negotiated on that, despite the Senate staying in session to negotiate on that. But what they have done is vote for a $886 billion military budget for the defense authorization. So the Republicans are showing themselves to not be a serious governing party. And every day, this turns into an episode of House of Cards. I remind people, that entire genre of television is gone now, because Republicans are so ridiculous. There's nothing that Shonda Rhimes can write that will be more ridiculous than this.

There's nothing that Veep can write that will be crazier than this. There's nothing that House of Cards or the West Wing could write that would be more ridiculous than what's going on in Congress right now. So we had to replace all those shows with reality shows because there's a reality show in Congress led by the host of The Apprentice. What did they expect to happen when they turned their entire party into a clown show? Let's be clear, Torun. You can't sit here and whine and complain about Hunter Biden ignoring a subpoena when you literally have Republicans sitting in the room who did the exact same thing. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one

of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company

dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding

of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working,

and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

That's true, but we also have to look at it from the perspective of a voter. The average voter, especially the average working class voter, all they see is a political circus. They say what Kendrick Lamar liked to call democrips and rebuttigans, where you see two different factions gangbanging. And while we can debate the merits of this indictment, we can debate the merits of even discussing this. If you look at the way this has been discussed, it really is ridiculous. It seems like something like The Last Brother said out of either a comedy or some sort of dramatic show, but this is actually real life, and no real screenwriter would put this out in front of the public because they wouldn't believe it.

Unfortunately, what the public is going to see, they're going to see people who they perceive as having privilege being able to walk into Congress and walk back out with no real consequences, even though there's already been several deals on the table that have either been refused because of the reasons, as you say, or because either the Republicans won't accept it or the Democrats won't accept it. But at the end of the day, when somebody is working nine to five and they go into the voting booth and all they have to go on is seeing how people move in these situations and the conversation doesn't really seem serious and it seems like a lot of backbiting and it seems like a lot of tit for tat, that's going to have real effect at the voting place.

And that's what I think the fear is from a lot of Democrats and Republicans. I think this has to be taken more seriously, and it has to be conducted in a businesslike manner. Otherwise, it's just going to make the whole entire country look ridiculous. Yeah, but the bottom line is this here. Republicans, they control the House, pure and simple. And they pass the fewest number of bills we have seen in decades. They are utterly dysfunction. And now they're blocking the spending bill because they are ticked off as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

So if I'm the Democrats, I must sit back and let these fools show their asses because they're the ones who are in charge. And so they can't even get their act together. They can't even pass bills on their side of the House because the Freedom Caucus, the Conservative Freedom Caucus, is holding the entire caucus hostage. So trust me, we're about to see more drama. Robert, real quick, 20 seconds. Just real quick. Also, Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene talking about white privilege, talking about can women speak, saying that Hunter Biden is a misogynist because he's afraid of listening to women. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, because this is a party that's completely against, quote unquote, identity politics. Right. And so it's convenient for them. And then they can use it.

Absolutely. And it's white privilege that they are all actually in power. All right, folks, hold tight one second. We come back. Virginia, we see the first black Speaker of the House in Virginia history. We'll show you next. Roland Martin unfiltered from the Black Sun Network. Okay. Speaker designee Scott, are you prepared to take the oath of office? I am. Please raise your right hand and place your left hand on the Bible. Please repeat after me. I, Don Scott.

I, Don Scott. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will support the Constitution of the United States. That I will support the Constitution of the United States. And the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia. And the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia. And Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and I will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon me all the duties incumbent upon me

as Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates as Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help to the best of my ability. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations, Mr. Speaker. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek.

I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley

comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Glod. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Cor vet.

MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. History made in Virginia today. First time in its 45-year history that an African-American becomes Speaker of the House. Delegate Don Scott was sworn in today. Not only that, folks, by the black chief just of the Supreme Court of Virginia, Bernard Goodwin. It was a moving day as Scott also thanked and invited former Virginia Governor Bob McDonald, Republican. It was McDonald who restored the voting rights of Don Scott, who in his speech talked about serving time in federal prison. It was certainly a moving day.

Democrats control the Senate, but they also now control the Virginia House. Here is some of what Scott said. I'm grateful and thankful to my colleagues for the trust that you have placed in me to lead this august body. The historic nature of my speakership is not lost on me. This will be the first time in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia that we have had a speaker who was as intelligent as this and as handsome as this. No, what y'all laughing at?

It's true. No, no, let me stop. But it's an honor and a privilege to be elected by my peers as the first Black Speaker of the House of Delegates. 405 years after the founding of the longest continuous democratic elected body in the Western Hemisphere. Also, coincidentally, 405 years after the first enslaved people arrived here. Not far from where we stand down the road in Hampton Roads.

So I know I stand on the shoulders of those who came before me. And there's something about being the first to do something. I think about the folks that I look up to personally who never got this opportunity, while still count as friends who are brilliant. Forgive me, but they are legislators, former legislators, they're jurors. They're not colleagues and peers. And they served in his body, African-Americans. People like Kenny Alexander, former delegate, senator from Norfolk.

Yvonne Miller, former delegate, fierce fighter, senator from Norfolk. I think about former delegate Gerald Jones and my predecessor and mentor and friend from Portsmouth, now Circuit Court Judge Delegate Ken Melvin. All of these guys were brilliant. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max

Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain.

I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban. Benny the Butcher.

Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. These ladies were brilliant,

yet they never had the opportunity to stand where I stand now. In fact, Judge Melvin told me he never even fathomed getting the opportunity to stand where I'm standing now. So I don't take this for granted. So I know I stand on the shoulders of giants. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for Doug Wilder, first black governor

of Virginia, 1989, or Fergie Reed, the first black person elected to the General Assembly since Reconstruction. Or George Tioma, who was elected during the Reconstruction to the General Assembly. He's a black man from Portsmouth. And he was a Republican. And every time I look around this room I do see this I see the ghost of those people who worked here those black folks who were enslaved here whose dignity and humanity was discounted right here in this room I see those people and I know we, not just I, we carry their hopes and dreams and their posterity. I carry it in my heart.

I think about all of the people who never got their rights heard by people sitting in this chamber. Thank God the Commonwealth has turned the chamber. Thank God the commonwealth has turned the page. Thank God. Now, there have been African Americans who have been speakers of the House in other states, New Jersey and California. But Dan Blue, you see right here, from 1991, 1995,

was the first black speaker of the House from a southern state. This was North Carolina. Again, 1991 to 1995, Don Scott now becomes the second. The thing here, Robert, is when you talk about power, not only Don Scott being the Speaker of the House, the top official, the top person who controls the purse strings in the Virginia Senate is a black woman, State Senator Louise

Lucas. And so what does it say that here you have Virginia that was the cradle of the Confederacy, and when it comes to the state, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin is the governor, but he can't get anything done without going through these two African Americans who control the House as well as control the Senate. Well, one, it tells us that, as we've said. A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one.

Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I started a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.