#RolandMartinUnfiltered - No Prison for Marilyn Mosby, DOJ Sues Live Nation, GA Prosecutor Sued for Not Doing His Job

Episode Date: May 24, 2024

5.23.2024 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: No Prison for Marilyn Mosby, DOJ Sues Live Nation, GA Prosecutor Sued for Not Doing His Job Good news: Baltimore's former top prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby.  She was spared prison for mortgage fraud and perjury.  You'll hear what she had to say after today's sentencing.  The Supreme Court upholds a Republican-drawn South Carolina congressional district, reversing a previous ruling by a lower court and potentially making it harder to challenge voting maps in the future. The Center for American Progress' Senior Director of Courts and Legal Policy will explain what this means for the upcoming election.  The head of Georiga's prosecutors’ council,  Pete Skandalakis, is accused of delaying the case against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, one of the fake electors for Trump in 2020. We'll talk to the lawyers suing  Skandalakis for dragging his feet in the case.  The DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, Ticketmaster's parent company, for illegally monopolizing markets in the live concert industry. Morgan Harper will explain what this lawsuit means to consumers.  #BlackStarNetwork advertising partners:Justice For Marilyn Mosby 👉🏾https://justiceformarilynmosby.com/Fanbase 👉🏾 https://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #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. Thank you. Today is Thursday, May 23rd, 2024. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. No prison time for former Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby. We'll tell you exactly what took place in a federal courtroom today. The Supreme Court, the conservative Supreme Court,

upholds a Republican-drawn South Carolina congressional district reversing a previous ruling by lower court that basically says hey racial gendarmerie gerrymandering is no is no problem but not only that we're going to show you the shameful and despicable writing of clarence thomas where he actually said that supreme court went too far in brown for his Board of Education? What in the hell is he talking about? The head of Georgia's Prosecutors Council is accused of delaying the case against Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones,

one of the fake electors for Trump in 2020. We'll discuss that. DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster's parent company for illegally monopolizing markets in the live concert industry. We'll tell you what this lawsuit

means for consumers and Anthony Anderson held his sixth annual celebrity golf tournament on Monday. Big Horn in Palm Desert. We'll show you some of the great things that took place. Time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstone Network. Let's go.

He's got whatever the piss he's on it. 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 believe he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rollin'

It's Uncle Roro, y'all It's Rollin' Martin Rollin' with Rollin' now He's funky, he's yeah, yeah. Rolling with rolling now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's rolling, Martel. Now. Martel.

Today was decision day in Baltimore where a federal judge was sentencing former Baltimore state's attorney Marilyn Mosby. Prior to the sentencing, supporters of Marilyn Mosby held a news conference outside of the courtroom. We live streamed that event on the Black Star Network. And again, there were so many folks there standing with her, cheering her on. She had, of course, had been on this show last week, had done a number of different interviews talking about talking about, of course, wanting to plead her case. Do we have what she had to say?

All right, let's roll it. Proverbs 3, 5 through 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. Submit to him in all of your ways, and he will make your path straight. I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for the fight. Thank you to everyone who signed that petition. Thank you for the federal public defender team team that so eloquently advocated on my behalf. Thank you.

I swear God sent angels into my life to see me when I felt like I wasn't being seen. And I'm just so grateful to each and every one of you, to the 14 civil rights organizations that have signed on to that pardon. Urban League, NAACP, Win With Black Women, my brother, Ben Crump. I tell you, my sister, Angela Rye, Monique Presley. There were so many. Latasha Brown. Kim Gardner. All of the folks that came out today. And I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge those of you locally who were fighting for me from the beginning.

Sheena's. The Hakeez. The Earthers. The Bills. I'm just so incredibly grateful. Reverend Slayton, thank you. This is not over. But God was here today, and I know he's with me.

He touched the heart of this judge and has allowed me to go home to my babies. Yes! From the bottom of my heart, Uncle T, Zai, there's so many of you all that have been there for me that I am so eternally grateful for. I could not name all of you in this moment, but it's because of you that I'm standing here right now, and I am forever and eternally grateful. God bless you all. Marilyn Mosby was sentenced to one year of home confinement, three years of supervised release.

This is, of course, after she was found guilty of perjury and fraud. The jury convicted her of lying about her finances to make early withdrawals from retirement funds during the pandemic and fraudulently claiming that her own $5,000 was a gift from her then-husband, Nick Mosby, as she closed on a Florida condominium court. Now, more than 50,000 people have signed the petition for Marilyn Mosby to receive a pardon from President Joe Biden. No word from the White House on that particular decision. It has been an emotional three plus years as this investigation took place by the feds. She, of course, lost her job as Baltimore State's attorney in the primary. Her former husband, Nick Mosby, this just a couple weeks ago, lost his race as Baltimore Council president. She was facing up to 40 years in prison. The federal prosecutors were seeking about 20 months and started off very

well when the judge had a downward departure in terms of made decision from that, but the judge did rule. As she would have to forfeit her home, which is about $800,000 value, so we will see if her attorneys are going to appeal that decision. But the effort to seek a pardon continues.

My Pam, Dr. Gregg Carr, Department of African American Studies, Howard University out of Washington, D.C. Joy Cheney, founder of Joy Strategies, and also joining us a little bit later, it's going to be Lawn Victoria Burke, Black Press USA. Joy, you heard Marilyn Mosby talk there. A number of people who she thanked. Angela Rye led the effort when it came to trying to secure the pardon, building up all of the folks signing on to the petition. Last night, Tamika Mallory, they organized a prayer vigil for Marilyn Mosby. We live streamed that on the Black

Star Network. She did a number of interviews talking about this case and bringing attention to Parton as well. There were many people who were like, man, she should just be quiet. But the reality is, had she been sentenced to prison, you know, her two daughters would have not would have been without their mother. That's right. First of all, no matter what happens, do you never be quiet? Everyone tells you to be quiet, but it's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil. And if you believe that you have been wronged, if you believe even if you haven't been wronged, if you believe you deserve mercy, you have to shout it and you have to get a community of people to say, we stand behind you. This won't be done in silence, that this person matters to us. the judgment, but the sentence, you know, you can take into account community support, reputation, all of those things.

Because ultimately what they're saying is that she harmed the community, but the community was saying, we stand behind her. And so she played it just right. Kudos to Angela Rye, who made a personal appeal to me and to others, you know, and to all the civil rights groups who did not hesitate to support her. Sometimes we don't always come out and support each other out of fear of being associated with imperfection. But in this case, we had to come out and support our sister because she has supported so many

others, however you feel about the case. She deserved a lenient sentence, and that's what she got today. This here is the Baltimore Sun story here. I'm going to pull up in a second. Give me a second, Greg. And they're describing what took place in the courtroom. One of Mosby's lawyers, public defender Maggie Grace, asked Grisby, Judge Grisby, to put a hold on the forfeiture order pending Mosby's appeal for mortgage fraud conviction. The judge said the government had to return the down payment Mosby put on the property, which amounted to about 10 percent of the cost and 10 percent of the condos appreciated value since she bought it. According to estimates from attorneys, Mosby's property nearly doubled in value to almost $890,000.

Prosecutors argue Mosby should have to forfeit the property and the entirety of its appreciated value. Quote, the defendant should not get to profit from her crimes merely because she invested the fraudulent proceeds. That's Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Williamson. Mosby's lawyer says the government hadn't proved there was a nexus between the property and the crimes Mosby was convicted of. They also said the forfeiture was overkill because there was no harm to the mortgage lender. But the judge agreed with them but said that the crime did cause harm. Quote, the court shares the defense's view there's no apparent financial harm to the lender,

but there had been a significant harm to the public because of Ms. Mosby's role at the time as both an elected official and an officer of the court. Greg? Let's be very clear, Roland. This has nothing to do with anything other than a political prosecution. You know, there's obviously mixed opinion in Baltimore amongst some of the activist community when it comes to Marilyn Mosby's record when she was in office. But let me be very clear, and thank you, Joy, for leading out, because that kind of allows me to echo what you said. This wasn't about that. A brother who you've had here on the network several times, Davon Love, the leader of a group called Leaders of Beautiful Struggle in Baltimore, wrote a piece, and he said,

quote, prosecuting her for taking money out of her own account, amongst other charges that have no potential to harm anyone, is a political punishment for Marilyn Mosby taking positions that challenge the racist policies of the law enforcement establishment. This is a sister who supported police accountability legislation, expungement of criminal convictions that stem from testimony of corrupt police officers. She supported decriminalizing cannabis and supported community-based approaches to violence prevention. And let us not forget the thing that put her on the map, which was prosecuting She supported decriminalizing cannabis and supported community-based approaches to violence prevention. And let us not forget the thing that put her on the map, which was prosecuting the funky

pat-a-rollers to kill Freddie Gray. This had nothing to do with the money of her account, her ex-husband's account, the house they bought, whether or not there was a victim. No, the victim in this is always black people. And I must say this in conclusion. We can set aside issues of class, issues of politics, and drill down very specifically on the single issue that has Marilyn Mosby in the news, race. You know, this has been, again, you know, lots and lots of drama back and forth. And again, it's been a pursuit. It has been a serious battle going back

and forth. And Mosby has not been shy, has not been quiet. In fact, Marilyn Mosby, you know, normally what happens, Greg, you know, this year, defendants will speak and what they'll do is they will actually address the court. But the fact of the matter is she didn't. And typically what happens is judges want to see the defendant actually admit to the crimes, plead for mercy, plead for mercy on behalf of the court. But that was not what she did. Now, prior to... 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 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 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. 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 ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We 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. The sentencing of the judge, a news conference was held outside of the courthouse. Angela Rye, Ben Crump and others spoke. My name is Angela Rye, and I'm proud to stand alongside Marilyn Mosby with so many Justice for Maryland Mosby supporters. As you all know, today, she's facing sentencing.

The things that she has been convicted of, when you look at the terms, the sentencing time, it could be up to 40 years. We have heard in the courtroom today that it will not likely be anywhere near that. Nevertheless, Maryland is still up against the tax. The prosecution was asked by this judge today, who were the victims in these alleged crimes? And the prosecution said, that's a good question. And so today we have the same question. Who are the victims? Today, Marilyn's kids are with her in this courtroom. They would be the victims. The folks who've been impacted by watching someone who stood up for us, stood up for justice for us, we're all the victims. And so today we will continue to challenge this justice system

to serve our dear sister as she has so righteously served it. Barbara Hornwine, the legendary Barbara Hornwine. First of all, to the people of the United States, to the people of Maryland, we have come here today because Marilyn Mosby deserves better. We deserve better. This has not been easy for any of us to watch her persecution over these last number of years. And it's no accident that people got on a bus from Baltimore, that people have come here today overflowing all this courtroom because of the injustice that has been done to her. We want to be clear that if you watch this hearing today, what

you've heard from the prosecution all day long has been contradictions. Contradictions. On the one hand, they want to say she's the most important defendant they ever had. Then they turn around and say, but we want to treat her like everybody else. Come on. It's very clear that this has been and will always be nothing but a vindictive prosecution. And it's important for all of us to stand here and say that we will not sit quietly by nor stand by while this is happening. We demand real justice. Enough is enough. Let her go home. Be with her family. Embrace her family and let her move on in life. We will always see her as our Shero. Thank you.

I'm attorney Ben Crump. As an officer of the court, I will be very careful with my words. I am going to present here exactly what I intend to present in the courtroom. Your Honor, I stand before you with deep respect and humility, along with national civil rights leaders, especially black women, urging leniency in the sentencing of Marilyn Mosby. I acknowledge the significance of this hearing and the weight of your responsibility in ensuring equal and fair justice. Therefore, I will not dwell on the broader context of how Marilyn and other progressive prosecutors seem to be targeted for their pursuit of equal justice. But instead, I will focus on her character and contributions. Marilyn Mosby has dedicated her life to champion justice.

I first met her in 2015 at a National Bar Association conference when she was the state's attorney in Baltimore. She was a trailblazer, the first amongst a wave of young, idealistic black prosecutors inspired by legal scholars like Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow. Merlin's mission was to dismantle racial and social injustices entrenched in our criminal justice system. As the first to lead this movement, Merlin Mosby not only symbolized the fight for equal justice in law enforcement, but she spearheaded it. History teaches us that pioneers are often targets.

Marilyn Mosby was no exception. Following the tragic death of Freddie Gray, a young black man who sustained fatal injuries while in police custody, Marilyn took a bold and unprecedented step. She did what many before her would not. Yes. She investigated and charged the police. The decision was neither popular nor politically safe. It was a courageous act driven by a commitment to equal justice and integrity, demonstrating her dedication to preserving faith in the criminal justice system, especially for the marginalized citizens of Baltimore. Marilyn's investigation prompted the United States Department of Justice

to conduct its own inquiry into the Baltimore Police Department. Their findings were stark, a systematic pattern of violating the constitutional rights of citizens, disproportionately African American citizens. With excessive force, stops, searches, and arrests. This validation of Merlin's concerns underscores her role in advocating for systematic change. The prosecution of Merlin Mosby seems intended to send a chilling message to other progressive prosecutors that their careers, their families, and their freedoms can be stripped away if they strive for equality and justice. We who cherish justice cannot allow this to be the prevailing message.

That's right. We cannot. Your Honor, I understand the necessity of balancing mercy and justice. I do not seek to diminish the seriousness of these proceedings. However, I implore you to consider Marilyn's character and the broader implications of this case. Marilyn is a devoted mother and daughter with no criminal history. To sentence her to prison for being convicted of nonviolent minor offenses with no victims would be a grave injustice and it would magnify the trauma of her two beautiful young daughters.

The crux of the matter is this. The conviction should only be classified as a minor white-collar crime in which many others have been convicted of and face a sentence that amounted to a slap on the wrist with probation and in some instances, Barbara, a mere confine of monetary compensation with no other blemish on her record their records angela yes what is different here today is that underneath that white collar is the neck of a black woman who dared to challenge the status quo. This sentence in here today will add to the legacy of not only Marilyn Mosby, but also to the American legal system from the perspective of many black people in America,

much in the way that it established the legacy of many other courageous black women like Rosa Parks, like Afeni Shakur, and like Angela Davis. History will remember people like Marilyn Mosby who followed their conscience even in the face of horrendous consequences. Martin Luther King once said that the cow asked the question, is it safe? He said expediency will ask the question, is it politically correct? He said vanity will ask the question, is it popular? But then he said conscience, conscience will ask the question, is it right? And Dr. King concluded there comes a time when one must take a position that's neither popular nor politically correct or not even safe.

But there comes a time when one must follow their conscience because it is the right thing to do. That's right. As state's attorney of Baltimore, Marilyn Mosby always tried to follow her conscience and do the right thing by all, do not be discouraged. Do not be discouraged. Ida B. Wells was not discouraged. That's right. Rosa Parks was not discouraged. Afeni Shakur was not discouraged.

Angela Davis was not discouraged. And at this time, we cannot be discouraged for standing up for what is right. We can never be discouraged for standing up for what is right for our community and people who have been at the bottom of the well. Those black and brown faces who we must continue to stand up for no matter how much they attack us personally. You see, this isn't about us. This is about the future of our children having an equal opportunity at the American promise

of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That's what Marilyn Mosby was trying to do and following her conscience. She was thinking about those people at the bottom of the well who nobody ever gave a voice to. She was fighting to give them a voice. In closing, Your Honor, we put our faith in your wisdom and fairness to render a decision that balances justice with compassion. I ask you to do what is right, not just for Marilyn Mosby, but for the message it sends about justice and equality in our society. We thank you for your time, and we ask that God bless you and God bless us all in this moment in history. Thank you. All right. All right. All right.

Craig? Craig? Yeah. Attorney Crump pretty much summarized it, fortunately, because I am not constrained by being an officer of the court. I'll say what he can't say. There is no justice at the

bar in this country for black people. The calculus of race clearly at play here. The judge, of course, in this case, Lydia Grigsby, Lydia K. Grigsby, has only been on the bench not even three years. She was appointed by the Biden administration in this late date in U.S. history, the first black woman to sit on a district court in the state of Maryland. We all remember her early orders—her orders early on in the case, including a limited gag order against members of Ms. Mosby's defense team, including our brother A. Scott Bowling, who subsequently withdrew from the case. And, of course, it was Scott who has said more recently that this was based on personal, political, and racial animus, this prosecution. But Judge Grisby having to watch

herself, if you don't think these white nationalists are going to come at her and say that she let her off light because they're black women, well, there's hell, and you can go there, except we already live in it when it comes to the criminal injustice system. So I'll say what Attorney Crump could not say. And the only other thing that comes to mind is that when you take $40,000 and $50,000 in two separate withdrawals from your own deferred compensation plan, and when this punk prosecutor says that that money was being held in trust for the people of Baltimore. So whether it's your money or not, it was being held in trust.

I will remind that, Paul. Let's double that. Let's say it wasn't $90,000. Let's say it was $180,000. Well, you still have to add $3,504 to get to the amount in PPP money that Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn't have to pay back. That's my tax money. It was held in trust and given out to a white nationalist. And she doesn't have to pay

it back. In fact, let's go even higher than that. Let's talk about Vern Buchanan, $2.3 million. Let's talk about Mike Hearn, $1 million. Let's talk about Matt Gaetz, $482,000. All that was held in trust. So I'll say what Attorney Crump could not say. I wouldn't go so far as to compare Marilyn Mosby to Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks or Fannie Lou Hamer, except in this one way, and that one makes all the difference. Everybody in this country, black, that pushes back against these powerful interests is in the scope of the target. There is no court that can save them. The reason that Marilyn Mosby is going to go home today to her daughters,

and the reason that we continue this fight, and the reason why it doesn't matter whether Joe Biden likes you or not, to quote our brother Michael Harriot in a recent piece that he wrote, but whether he respects you, is that when you organize enough people, you can roll over powerful interests. And what we saw on display you organize enough people, you can roll over powerful interests. And what we saw on display today was enough people were organized to roll over the powerful interests that sought to put this woman in the gun sights because she chose to push back a little against powerful interests. Indeed. Hold tight one second. We come back. We're going to tell you what's happening in Georgia, where one of these MAGA folks is having some issues in court as well. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Coming soon to the Black Star Network.

It was my junior year at Georgetown. This guy calls me and he says, Mal, what are you doing next year? I said, graduating. 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. Add 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. 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.

You know, he said, take a year off. We'll be right back. is going to tell you that it's true. It's true. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. On that soil, you will not replace us. White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial.

This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. Here's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes

because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. Dr. Gerald Horne, a man regarded by many as the most important historian of our time. He provides us a history lesson I'm betting you've never heard before. Texas enslavers who plan to continue the conflict even after Appomattox,

even after the formal surrender of Robert E. Lee. Dr. Horne talks about his new book, The Counter-Revolution of 1836, Texas, Slavery, and Jim Crow and the Ro roots of U.S. fascism. You do not want to miss this conversation. Only on The Black Table, right here on the Black Star Network. Next on Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, women of color are starting 90% of the businesses in this country. That's the good news. The bad news, as a rule, we're not making nearly as much as everyone else.

But joining us on the next Get Wealthy episode is Betty Hines. She's a business strategist, and she's showing women how to elevate other women. I don't like to say this openly, but we're getting better at it. Women struggle with collaborating with each other. And for that reason, one of the things that I demonstrate in the sessions that I have is that you can go further together if you collaborate. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. Hello, I'm Paula J. Parker. Judy Proud on the Proud Family. I am Tommy Davidson. I play Oscar on Proud Family, Louder and Proud. Hi, I'm Jo Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney Plus.

And I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones should be among the MAGA folks Fannie Willis ind pursuing charges because she hosted a fundraiser for Jones Democratic Challenger. Prosecuting Attorneys Council Executive Director Pete Scandalakis appointed himself the special prosecutor. And many feel he's taking too long to handle the case against Jones. And the statute of limitations is in danger of running out. Some black attorneys who want him to step down have filed a lawsuit to force Scandal Agus to perform a non-discretionary duty. Attorney Wayne Kendall joins us from Fayetteville, Georgia.

Also, Attorney Randy Frails is in Augusta. First off, so walk us through this. Walk us through this and explain, you know, what's going on here and how y'all can get him. What are you trying to do? Remove from the case? Somebody else opponent? Exactly. What's the goal? You're looking for. Yeah, go ahead.

Oh, OK. I wasn't sure whether or not Wayne was going to answer whether or not I am. Our goal really is to have Mrs. Scandalakas appoint someone else. We believe that Mrs. Scandalakas has a conflict because Burt Jones is president of the Senate. And as president of the Senate, he's actually Mrs. Scandalakas' paymaster. And we actually filed this lawsuit on February 28, 2024. There had been no action in this lawsuit for a very long time. Myself, along with three other attorneys, John Clark, Kenneth Dyson, Shaveen King, as members of the Georgia Alliance of African American Attorneys, we brought this claim against Mr. Scandal Act, which required him to do his job. And his job should have been to appoint

what we would basically call an independent prosecutor who could look into the matter as far as Burt Jones is concerned, our Lieutenant Governor, and determine whether or not he should be charged along with the other, I think it was 19 defendants in the 41-count indictment that District Attorney Fannie Willis brought against Donald Trump, Cheeseburger, Giuliani, and other individuals. Mr. Jones, he's lieutenant governor. He was not allowed to be brought because D.A. Willis had donated to one of his opponent's campaigns. However, that doesn't mean that justice should escape him. The citizens of Georgia, all citizens of Georgia, Republicans, Democrats, Black, white, all people of color, we deserve justice. And in the process

of deserving justice, we deserve to have a special prosecutor appointed to investigate Lieutenant Governor Bert Jones. So here's what I'm trying to understand here. Okay. So saying that Fannie Willis could not indict, does that mean her entire office? Yes, it does. It does mean her entire office. Got it. office? Yes, it does. It does mean her office. And so what we're asking, and there are individuals

throughout the state, other district attorneys who would more than gladly conduct their investigation, bring this matter before a grand jury so that grand jury can make a determination as to whether or not uh uh lieutenant governor burke jones should be indicted for acting as a fake elector along with some of some other georgia defendants that were indicted uh for this matter is this um this special prosecutor republican Republican or Democrat? Well, it hasn't been determined whether or not he would be a Republican or Democrat. A special prosecutor could be an independent

individual. It's not a matter of whether he's a Republican or Democrat. I'll tell you one thing. I'm getting a lot of audio interference. I can barely hear you. So, alright, so let's go right ahead. So what I'm saying is, this special prosecutor,

who does he work for? Is he a DA elsewhere? Does he work for the state? Where did he come from? He would work for the state. He would be someone appointed by Mr. Scandalack as in his role as being in charge of the special prosecutor's office. That would be Mr. Scandalack's job to appoint someone else.

But, you know, he appointed himself. And we believe, as I said before, that is a direct conflict. And we're asking him to appoint someone else. Gotcha. The prosecutor, they can make a determination based upon their presentation to the grand jury as to whether or not there's going to be a bill indictment or whether or not there's going to be a no bill. The prosecutor is the one who presents the information to the grand jury. And as such, with Scandalakis being directly involved with the lieutenant governor, we certainly believe that it's not right for him to appoint himself. We know what the results will be if, in fact, he appoints himself as the special prosecutor.

All right, then. Well, look, bottom line is what we see here, we see there's no doubt there's an effort in Georgia by Republicans to not move forward with this trial. They want to protect Donald Trump as much as they can. We have seen the delays in other places. And this is also one of the reasons why, you know, why I said that all of the drama over Nathan Wade being hired, that actually caused unnecessary delays and gave an opening for the Trump folks and these MAGA folks to be able to try to delay this as much as possible? They will continue to delay. And, you know, the thing that happened to Mr. Wade and D.A. Fonney-Willis. You know, it's unfortunate. In Georgia, a defense attorney and a prosecuting attorney,

they can date. The rules allow them to do that, for them to bring those claims against Mr. Wade and a district attorney, Fonney-Willis. We firmly believe that those are unfair. But getting back to Burt Jones, you know, this is Governor Kemp's last term. We will have an election coming up in a couple of years for governor. More than likely, Burt Jones will be the Republican nominee for governor. And so what we will have is we will have a fake elector

running for governor in the state of Georgia. Someone who was involved in that process, who helped certify the fake elector votes, who unfortunately was not indicted, will be running for governor. And Georgians, all Georgians, we deserve more than that. We deserve someone Republican or Democrat. We deserve someone who has a cleaning record, who was not involved in that fake election scheme to run as governor. As you know, Georgia's had a Republican governor for a number of years. It's been over 20 years, over 24 years since Georgia has had a Democratic governor. And that's a high likelihood that if, in fact, he is the Republican nominee, he could be sitting

in the governor's mansion in the state of Georgia as the only state in the country that actually has a fake elector sitting in the governor's office. And before that decision arise, you know, we as Georgia citizens, we deserve some justice. We deserve a grand jury to be convened, a independent district attorney appointed by Pete Scandalakis to make a decision as to whether or not this individual should be involved in that process. All right, Dan. Well, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. And we'll follow this case, see what happens. Thank you. Folks, we come back. Breaking news out of L.A. Regarding the swatting case against Black Lives Matter grassroots leader Malina Abdul. We'll tell you exactly what that jury decision is right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered.

The Black Star Network support us in what we do. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. Your dollars allow us to be able to do what we do every single day, five days a week. We're the only black daily news show in America. Nobody is doing what we are doing. And so support not just this show, but the network, the multiple shows that we have. Send your check and money order to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 2003-7DAD-0196. Cash app is Dallas Sound, RM Unfiltered. PayPal, R. Martin Unfiltered.

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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 We'll see you next time. 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. 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 man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We 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. Our career would grow with Google's wide range of online courses,

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Me, Sherri Sheppard, and you know what you're watching, Roland Martin unfiltered. Hashtag we tried to tell you. Remember what I said in Louisiana. If black folks and others stay at home and they allow a crazy, deranged, MAGA Republican to be in the governor's mansion, but not just that. Republicans now have a supermajority in Louisiana. Well, guess what? If you live in Louisiana and you have in your possession any abortion pills without a prescription, you could end up in prison.

Louisiana Senate passed a bill classifying abortion pills as dangerous controlled substances. The bill would designate these two common drugs, but also, which are also used for miscarriages and to prevent ulcers, as controlled dangerous substances. The bill passed Louisiana House earlier this week, and it goes to the desk of MAGA Governor Jeff Landry for his signature. Anyone in possession of the abortion pills with no prescription can face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. There is an exception for pregnant people. And Louisiana has a near total ban on abortions. But not only that, this also creates a registry of folks in the state. Joy, we constantly tell people elections have consequences.

And what people in Louisiana are now seeing is what happens when you allow Republicans, MAGA Republicans, to have unfettered access to controlling the laws of the state. This is what they're doing. This is exactly what they're doing. Listen, we have said this on your show. I've said it elsewhere. We've all said it. When you are going to vote, you are not simply going to vote for the person whose name is on the ballot. You're voting for everyone else that they will appoint when they're in a role. Every prosecutor, we were just talking about prosecutors, that they might appoint when they're in a role. All the people who are over federal agencies that they might appoint

when they're in the role. All the judges that they might appoint when they're in the role. So as we go on to 2024, I mean, I can say what we want on this show. Don't make a mistake and vote for or not vote at all and inadvertently elect someone who will restrict your access to control your body. Don't do it. That's what's at stake. Greg, it's not just this bill as well. Look, earlier this week, Republicans there voted down a bill from Cleo Fields that will require air conditioning and heat in all school buses in the state. They're like, what the hell?

Switch your ass off and freeze. Well, I mean, as you said in conversations with our brother Adam Serrer at The Atlantic, his book, the title of it says everything. The cruelty is the point. These white nationalists have been on a quest to impose control over women's bodies, well, for decades now, certainly after the 1973 Roe v. Wade opinion.

Today's passage of this legislation, calling these two abortion pills controlled substances, is just the next step in their attempt to enact a nationwide ban. They don't want anyone to be able to control their bodies. And that's the bottom line. You know, a little bit later on, we'll be talking about the Christian soldier, the white Christian nationalist soldier Samuel Alito in the United States Supreme Court, who's letting his upside-down, freak white nationalist flags fly at his vacation house and the place he sleeps at night. This isn't ideology. These are ideologues in their world. Women have no rights. White men control everything. And at the end of the day, the threat to that is, I would talk about abstract

things like freedom and democracy. Now, this is a question of control. And they will use whatever mechanism they can. They said, let's return this issue to the states. But then you say, no, no, no, we don't want, that was a step toward the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to create a white Christian nationalist theocracy run by white men. And the only way we can stop—well, not the only way we can stop them. The best way to stop them is to become politically engaged. And that's a word to my quote-unquote radical friends who seem to think that voting doesn't matter but aren't ready to hit the streets. Are you ready to get the strap and go out here and fight these people with guns? I think not.

No, no, no, no. Use the ballot while you have the chance. And as we'll talk about in a minute, they're working hard to make sure you can't even do that. So while you have the chance in Louisiana, please listen to Gary Chambers. Listen to Roland Martin. Listen to all of us who are saying go out there and exercise the franchise because this is where it's headed. And I should say one other thing. Yeah, go ahead.

This is about health care. This is about health care. Yes. If they can limit one bill, it ain't about abortion bills. It's about something else. Guys, they are trying to control us and control our ability to even be healthy, to even have preventative care, to even have the medicines that we have. You know, the science has long fought for to benefit all of us and to make all of us healthy. You do not want a political body determining and playing politics with your medical interventions.

That's not a good idea. Trust me, as important as reproductive health and bodily autonomy is, it will not stop here. It's not only about abortion. And look, I mean, this is the thing that I don't know why people don't pay attention to, Greg. They made it clear what they were going to do. If you looked at the writings of Alito and Thomas, what did Thomas say? We're going after birth control pills.

What you're dealing with is a Supreme Court that has hard right, hard core Catholics on the Supreme Court. And look, the Catholic Church don't believe in abortion, don't believe in birth control pills, don't believe in condoms, don't believe in any of that sort of stuff.

And this is no doubt, and we're going to discuss this in a bit, the shameful decision regarding the Supreme Court. People have to understand that what the right wing is doing. Listen, they're clear. Trump gets in and they control the House and the Senate. They're going to pass a national abortion ban. They are going to put in place hard right-wingers. They are going to put in an agenda that absolutely excoriates women's reproductive rights, civil rights, united. That's right. And you know,

it's interesting. I'm glad you raised that, Roland, because as we know, you know, and this is going to be how they try to shave off some of these voting margins in November, which combined with voter suppression and outright theft, they hope to return this fool to the White House and win the Senate and the federal legislature and the House of Representatives. We know there are a lot of Hispanic Catholics, but that's not what we're talking about. I'm glad you raised this, because, you know, these are Catholics who are at war with Pope Francis. Francis has said, you know, I'm against these conservative extremists in the United States

speaking specifically about this. And isn't all Catholics. You know, you look at Clarence Thomas, you look at Sam Alito, you're talking about—these are not—I mean, for that matter, Sonia Sotomayor is Catholic. This isn't just about Catholicism. This is white Christian nationalism. This is the Klan. The Klan will consider themselves Christians.

These people are defending something. And in Clarence Thomas' case, it's—you know, Clarence Thomas can't be forgiven, certainly. And we talked about this in The Black Table with Corey Robin, who wrote the book The Enigma of Clarence Thomas. Clarence Thomas has been turned inside out by white supremacy. He has been ruined by white supremacy. But ultimately, what you're raising, Rowling, is the specter of extreme white nationalism. For that matter, finally, the Nazis would have considered themselves Christians. This is in defense of a particularly narrow interpretation of Christianity that is indefensible

except for fascists. This is what we saw in the 1920s and 30s. This is what we saw in the 1950s and 60s with the segregation movement and massive resistance, and we're seeing it again. It never went away. That's what we're dealing with. Absolutely.

And so, folks, you need to understand that. Got to go to break. We come back. We're going to talk about the Supreme Court decision today regarding a congressional seat in South Carolina. And y'all need to understand something. You got two Supreme Court justices, including that black dude. He literally said that the Supreme Court overstepped its bounds in Brown's Board of Education. Clarence Thomas is one of the most self-hating Black men in America. Yeah, I see.

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 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. Add 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 ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug man. 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. really does It makes it real

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season 2 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 Say that Apple Podcasts. our website. You see me rocking the Shibori pocket square right here. It's all about looking different. And look, summertime is coming up. Y'all know, I keep trying to tell fellas, change your look, please. You can't wear athletic shoes every damn where. So if you're putting on linen suits, if you're putting on some summer suits, have a whole different look. The reason I like this particular pocket square, these Shibori, is because it's sort of like a flower and looks pretty cool here versus the traditional boring silk pocket squares. But also, I like them a little different as well.

So this is why we have these custom-made feather pocket squares on the website as well. My sister actually designed these after a few years ago. I was in this battle with Steve Harvey at Essence. And I saw this at a St. Jude fundraiser. I saw this fill the pocket square and I said, well, I got some ideas. So I hit her and she sent me about 30 different ones. And so this completely changes your look. Now, some of you men out there, I had some dudes say, oh man, I can't wear that.

Well, if you ain't got swagger, that's not my problem. But if you're looking for something different to spruce up your look, fellas, ladies, if y'all looking to get your man a good gift, I've run into brothers all across the country with the feather pocket squares saying, see, check mine out. And so it's always good to see them. And so this is what you do. Go to RollersMartin.com forward slash pocket squares you can order shibori pocket squares or the custom-made pocket squares now for the shiboris we're out of a lot of different colors and i think we're down to about two or three hundred so you want to get your order in as soon as you can because here's what happened i got these several years ago and they, the, the, the Japanese company signed the deal with another company and I bought them before they signed that deal. And so I can't

get access to any more from the company in Japan that makes them. And so get yours now. So come summertime, when I see y'all at essence, y'all could be looking fly with the Shibori pocket square or the custom made pocket square again, rolling this martin.com forward slash pocket squares. Go there now. My name is Lena Charles, and I'm from Opelousas, Louisiana. Yes, that is Zydeco capital of the world. My name is Margaret Chappelle.

I'm from Dallas, Texas, representing the Urban Trivia Games. It's me, Sherri Shepherd, and you know what you're watching. Roland Martin on Unfiltered. Well, folks, a shameful decision today by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 6-3 decision, they overturned a unanimous lower court ruling that declared the creation of a congressional district in South Carolina. They declared that to be unconstitutional because it constituted racial gerrymandering. Well, guess what? Supreme Court rule at South Carolina's Republican controlled legislature had not conducted a racial gerrymandering of the district. Devon Ombres is the senior director of courts and legal policy. He joins us right now from the Center for American Progress.

Glad to have you here. So make sense of this of this decision in light of the court's recent decisions regarding Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. There's no sense to be made of it, except that the right wing justices on this court are doing exactly what they want to do. There's no logic behind it. So they're saying that the cracking and packing, was it racial gerrymandering? What the hell was it? It's really interesting because at this point they're just saying it doesn't matter. This case overturned precedent that's only seven years old. It's Cooper, the North Carolina case in which Alito, who wrote this opinion, wrote the dissent. And it basically turned that dissent that's just seven years old into a majority opinion that effectively makes challenging racial gerrymandering all but impossible. It creates new standards of evidence.

It micromanages the way that plaintiffs can bring complaints. And it effectively says that if the state's evidence is even possible to comprehend as being not racially gerrymandering, then you have to overturn any lower court ruling. The Supreme Court has said racial gerrymandering is not a thing. And what you were saying about Justice Thomas beforehand, I'll go all day on that because his concurrence was bananas. So walk us through that, because I've seen a lot of different commentary where he even weighed in

and invoked Brown v. Board of Education. Well, first off, what's wild to me is that he actually had one or two sentences that I agreed with because he said that the majority opinion went way too far in reviewing the facts of this case. And the defense said, the defense says, if there is a deference to be given, it is to the fact finders. It is to the lower court. They don't have to look at the facts of the cases if they're the first ones to receive it. The court did exactly that.

They waded through four levels of expert review and thousands of pages of document and completely second guessed the lower court. And Justice Thomas said, whoa, pump the brakes. You can't do that in clear error review. It doesn't matter because he said they got it right anyway. And also, by the way, racial gerrymandering is not something that we can look at because it's beyond the scope of what the Constitution permits us. But I just want to quote this to you because when he was talking about Brown v. Board, it blew me away because he said that the court's equitable efforts to speed up desegregation was a, quote, extravagant use of judicial power at odds with history and tradition.

Justice Thomas said, I want to roll back Brown. And if Thurgood Marshall, rest his soul, is not haunting Clarence Thomas, he is doing the afterlife wrong. He literally said federal courts have limited power to grant equitable relief, not the flexible power to invent whatever new remedies may seem useful at the time, which he was using to justify his decision to keep a predominantly white congressional district in South Carolina. That's what Axios writes. Yep. And they're just they're just making up new rules. They're making up new rules of evidence. They are making up new equitable burdens that plaintiffs have to overcome.

They are overturning decades and decades of precedent and basically saying the state has the presumption of correctness. Because if you look back at Cooper, Alito was really upset that people would accuse states of being engaged in racial gerrymandering, and that was an offense too far. In fact, wasn't Alito so shameful that he dared to tell a fellow Supreme Court justice she didn't know what she was talking about when she wrote the majority opinion in the Cooper case? We've seen just through the way he acts in off and the way he treats her is shameful. And Justice Alito is not afraid to let his views be known, as seen by his upside-down American flag and his white nationalist call to heaven or appeal to heaven flag outside of his home in New Jersey. Questions from the panel. Greg. Thank you, Roland, and thank you, Tony Humbres.

Yeah, Thomas, I must confess, I get a bit of a perverse pleasure from reading Clarence Thomas because he—either the United States is going to be better than it's been, or it's going to be reconstructed again. And Thomas is forcing us to deal with this. They definitely settle in scores. Like you say, Alito and Thomas, the number of times Clarence Thomas quoted himself in that 21-page

concurrence was hilarious. Let me ask you, there was a phrase near the end of his concurrence that I found particularly disturbing, particularly since they've thrown all law out the window and it's now all about politics. What do you make of his, I don't want to call it a theory, but his assertion of constitutional limits on remedial power? I mean, we wouldn't have had a civil rights movement had the courts not come in, you know. And when Thomas says there are constitutional limits on remedial power, and as you were

talking about equity jurisprudence, you know, Brown is in overreach, what does that bode for the possibility of federal judicial—federal lawmaking and advancing the goal of a more equitable, I dare say, a more perfect union. When he talks about those limits, what do you think is in Clarence Thomas' mind when he starts talking about these constitutional limits on remedial power? I mean, you say reconstruction, I say deconstruction. The point of this entire movement is to roll us back to pre-New Deal times. It is to roll us back to Lochner era. It is to roll us back to the Reconstruction when Jim Crow was riding high. You know, there's a whole movement, and there's a number of cases coming up in the next couple of months that are—it's a huge power

grab by these six justices. They're going to say that federal agencies do not have the right to regulate, and in the same vein, they're going to say that Congress does not have the right to give agencies any power. Congress has to micromanage everything, which, as we all know, is not functional. But the fact of the matter is Congress has been doing this for the last 100 years, 110 years. And they're saying, no, we got to go back to the old days when robber barons. 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 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 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 Tman trophy winner it's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves music stars marcus king john osborne for brothers

osborne we have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing benny the butcher brent smith from shine down got be real from cypress hill nhl enforcer riley cote marine quote-unquote drug fans. 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 I heart radio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcast and to hear episodes one week

early and ad free with exclusive content. Subscribe to lava for good plus on Apple podcast. Joy. Joy. We know Clarence Thomas is someone who is suffering from extreme self-esteem issues and is being played out. But let's talk about Justice Alito. I mean, you know, let's talk about him. I mean, what are the implications beyond this case of having the Supreme Court dig so deeply into the facts where they're disrupting the opinion of the fact finder, the district court, of which there was so much direct evidence, not even indirect evidence, that race was considered. They almost chose to believe that it was some other alternative when they actually, and they said, well, we'll ignore that. But there was actually direct

evidence. It's rare that you get that. And we had that in this case. So, you know, what are the, so this is terrible here, but what are the other implications for that? The implications of this case are that the Supreme Court, these six justices, will do what they need to do to get the outcomes that they want. Kagan's dissent was fire, and she took apart the majority opinion piece by piece because the deference is supposed to go to the fact finders. But they flipped it on its head and said, this state that is accused of racial gerrymandering, there is enough evidence to show that they racially gerrymandered this district. There is, we believe, based on a year's worth of litigation and a trial to believe the challengers here, because that's what the burden of the evidence shows. And the Supreme Court just said, we're going to look at all of that again,

and we're going to believe the state. And anytime the state's actions are plausible, we're going to believe the state. And the challengers have no truck with us. It shows how far they're willing to go. Absolutely. Lawn, Victoria Burke. So, Devon, what case do you see coming up that would be the case that they might grant cert to that would flip Brown v. Board? They seem to be very—these six justices seem to be very obsessed about race. As they tell everybody that race doesn't matter, all of these cases seem to always seem to have to do with race, affirmative action. But is there a case out there that you see coming down the pipe that would be the case that they could flip Brown v. Board on?

So the only—what's, I think, nice or at least not disconcerting about this, is that nobody joined Thomas. And I don't think they're ready to flip Brown v. Board yet. And if they do flip Brown v. Board, it won't be explicitly. It'll be implicitly through a number of various things. But what you see is Edward Blum in the Fearless Fund cases, where they're mandating that the Reconstruction Amendment, that the Civil Rights Act of 1866, all be race neutral as opposed to providing recompense for hundreds of years of slavery,

which is what their intent was, what constitutional and congressional intent was, was to not be race neutral, but to help disadvantaged and discriminated against communities. And they're turning that on its head and saying, no, everything must be race neutral. And you can't raise folks up who have been discriminated against for hundreds of years because it might be. You know, when you've been privileged, equality is discrimination. And Justice Thomas, of all people, seems to have making that his personal creed. Yep. Thanks. Justice Thomas, of all people, seems to have made that his personal creed. Yep. Thanks.

Well, they are doing what they are doing. And all those folks who sat out in 2016 who said they just cannot bring themselves to vote for Hillary Clinton, guess what? That's how Trump got three Supreme Court justices. And trust me, let me say this right now. Donald Trump wins in November. Alito is going to retire. Cl. Alito is going to retire. Clarence Thomas is going to retire. And Trump has already said, we're going to point young Supreme Court justices who can serve for the next 50 years.

They want to cement this six to three majority. Absolutely. See Judge James Ho in the Fifth Circuit. That guy is, he makes Thomas look like a lightweight. What's his name? James Ho, Fifth Circuit. Is it James Ho?

Mm-hmm. Gotcha. All right. Devon, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. All right. Thank you so much. All right, folks. Come back. We're going to go to a live presser news conference where Malina Abdul, Black Lives Matter grassroots, lost her case out of L.A. regarding being swatted by the LAPD. We'll hear how some of that when we come back right here on Rolling Mark. Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. have lowered healthcare premiums and expanded coverage for black families. They also capped the price of insulin at $35.

Joe Biden is getting the job done for people just like me. I'm Joe Biden, and I approve this message. Hi, I am Tommy Davidson. I play Oscar on Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. I don't say, I don't play Sammy, but I could. Or I don't play Obama, but I could. I don't do Stallone, but I could do all that. And I am here with Roland Martin on Unfiltered.

All right, folks. In Los Angeles, a jury made a determination that Melina Abdul, of course, who's the Black Last Matter grassroots activist, was the grass like black last matter grassroots activist was not being swatted by LAPD. This had gone back in terms of when they showed up at her home. And again, the decision came down a few moments ago, probably less than 30 minutes ago by the jury. They rejected the claims in here. They deliberated for about a half a day before finding in favor of the city. She said that she and her children were forced out of

her home at gunpoint on August 12, 2020. This was following the death of George Floyd. Right now, there is a Zoom call for media is taking place right now. So let's go ahead and play some of that. So for folks who need an actual copy of the complaint, the lawsuit, you can download it from the chat. And now we'll pivot over to Dr. Malina Abdullah for her reaction to today's verdict. Yeah. So I think one,, one, let me just start by saying, thank you. Thank you to Dermot. Thank you to Aaron. Thank you to Chris Martin, who were the attorneys who represent this case. We know that when the swatting happened, um, in August, 2020, um, we spoke with several attorneys and many of them were afraid to try this case.

Many of the attorneys said there's no money to be made in this case. And so they wouldn't work with us. You know, not that Dermott and Aaron and Chris were not at the top of our list. They were, but I just want to point out what kind of commitment to justice has to be had by the attorneys to pursue this case. This, as Dermot Givens has shared, anytime you sue police, it's an uphill battle. And one of the things that was raised in this case over and over is I didn't die. In fact, the attorney for the police kept saying, why are you suing? You didn't die. You didn't even get shot. And I didn't get shot. And that's by the grace of God, right? It's by the grace of God and by beloved community that I'm here and I'm speaking, that my children are

safe. And I'm grateful, grateful, grateful that that's the case. And you shouldn't have to get shot to say that police are doing something wrong. So I want to begin with the words of Charlotte Abbas, who's the first black woman to run for vice president of the United States in 1952. She ran on the progressive party ticket and she said, win or lose, we win by raising the issues. So that's the point. We win by raising the issues. We are winning by exposing who LAPD is and what they do. So we were only allowed to present evidence on the August 12th, 2020 swatting. The judge in this case barred us from being able to present additional evidence because as some of you are aware, after my children and I were violently swatted and, you know, it wasn't just the call that caused the violence. It's the police response to what they call a prank call that really caused the

harm. But it wasn't just August 12th, 2020, when we announced that we would be suing LAPD for their violent response. The very next day, my home was swatted again. And then it was swatted again twice in a single week, right? It was swatted again. So I was swatted a total of three times. And LAPD would have you believe that they did nothing wrong. I want to just underscore what Attorney Givens has offered. what it was like to have my home surrounded by dozens of police officers with assault rifles trained on my house with my three children inside and me having to make the decision as a mother to come out with my hands up as ordered because I didn't want to risk them barging in and I won't even speak what could have happened to my children if they barged in or had started shooting at the house. The outcome of

the case is I don't want to pretend as if it's not a blow, even though we were bracing for it. It is a blow. We were still hopeful that maybe this time would be different. Maybe this time these jurors would see the truth of what's happening. Maybe because we knew we were exposing the system, maybe they would say it was wrong, even if it happens to a Black mother. But what we see over and over, especially over the last few weeks, is outright assaults, especially on Black women, and a pushback and a backlash against those of us who dare to organize against violence, against state violence, and against police violence. What we saw is the system, several different parts of the system, the system of policing, the city attorney's office, as well as the court system, all doubled down on violent

policing and police violence. What we saw is a judge who had spent his career before being appointed, not elected, appointed to the bench. He spent his career as an attorney defending police. And so it wasn't surprising when Rupert Birdsong treated us in the courtroom as if we were criminals instead of engaged citizens. It wasn't surprising to witness him berate Dr. Tabitha Jones Jollivet and enable and allow and condone the beratement of myself by the Los Angeles city attorney, who I can't even say what his name is because he refused.

I've never seen anything like it. The city attorney who was representing the police who cross-examined me refused to even give his name. He refused to give his name when asked. And then he went into this whole performative thing, assailing me, asking me, didn't I think I was special? And if this were the 1950s or 60s, he would have called me an uppity Negro. Who do you think you are? He asked me, who do you think you are? And so we watched all parts of the system kind of protect itself and protect police violence. And ultimately we got the outcome that we got, which is that police are enabled and empowered to do whatever they want with absolutely no repercussions, with no accountability. And that is of you know. I see some of the people who were here. James Farr is one of your fellow journalists who was actually in the courtroom every single day,

every single day. Every single day, there was not an empty seat in the courtroom. Every single day, there were members of organizing community sitting in the hallway. Every single day, they even subjected themselves to, again, the kind of violent policing that we were there to protest because the judge saw fit to call in the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, dozens of them, to police members of the public in the hallway for a civil trial. I've never seen anything like it, right? But our beloved community stood firm. We said, we're all here together. I'm especially grateful that there was a massive turnout on the day that my child

testified. My oldest child, who's now 20, but was 16 at the time of the violent incident, was there and they took the stand. And there were just a massive number of people to make sure that they felt held and loved. And so I guess what I'll end on is just by saying thank you. And while we didn't win in court today, we did affirm for ourselves that we keep us safe and that we have each other to struggle alongside and that we're not going to stop fighting just because it's no longer 2020 or just because systems of policing and prosecution and courts seek to shut us up. We're going to continue to fight because our people deserve it and need it and our ancestors and future generations demand it. That was Melina Abdul, of course, who leads Black Lives Matter grassroots.

Folks, we come back. Department of Justice, they're saying Live Nation. Y'all are defrauding too many people and are asking for them to be split from Ticketmaster. We'll talk about how the Biden-Harris administration has really been cracking down on monopolies as they jack up prices against consumers. That's next right here. I'm Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Support our work, folks. Join our Bring the Funk fan club.

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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 Lott. 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 podcast. I am unfiltered. Say all rolling at roller. The S Martin.com relevant. Roll it.

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It was my junior year at Georgetown, and Spike calls me and he says, Malcolm, what are you doing next year? Graduating, you know. He said, take a year off. Welcome, Malcolm X. I said, okay. First of all, for the folks who don't know, Spike is my cousin. Spike is my cousin.

The person watching, like, how the hell is Spike just going to tell you? It's true. It's true. I am Tommy Davidson. I play Oscar on Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. Right now, I'm rolling with Roland Martin. Unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable. You hear me?

A lot of folks have been complaining about Live Nation, the fees they charge folks having a monopoly, if you will, on live concerts in America. Well, guess what? The Department of Justice says, yes, time to break that crap up. when Mayor Garland explained why the DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster's parent company for illegally monopolizing markets in the live concert industry. In recent years, Live Nation Ticketmaster's exorbitant fees and technological failures have been criticized by fans and artists alike. But we are not here today because Live Nation Ticketmaster's conduct is inconvenient or frustrating. We are here because, as we allege, that conduct is anti-competitive and illegal.

Our complaint makes clear what happens when a monopolist dedicates its resources to entrenching its monopoly power and insulating itself from competition rather than investing in better products and services. We allege that Live Nation has illegally monopolized markets across the live concert industry in the United States for far too long. It is time to break it up. Live Nation Ticketmaster has made itself ubiquitous in the live entertainment industry. It controls at least 80 percent of primary ticketing at major concert venues.

It directly manages more than 400 artists and controls more than 60 percent of concert promotions across the country. And it owns or controls more than 60% of large amphitheaters in the United States. We allege that to sustain this dominance, Live Nation relies on unlawful, anti-competitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States and over the fans, artists, independent promoters, and venues that power the industry. The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts,

smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. As detailed in our complaint, Live Nation Ticketmaster locks out competition in ticketing through the use of long-term, exclusive ticketing contracts with venues that can last over a decade, as well as by acquiring venues themselves. With exclusive agreements that cover more than 70% of concert ticket sales at major concert venues across the country, Ticketmaster can impose a seemingly endless list of fees on fans. Those include ticketing fees, service fees, convenience fees, platinum fees, price master fees, per order fees, handling fees, and payment processing fees, among others. For fans in the United States, this illegal conduct means higher prices.

In other countries, where venues are not bound by Ticketmaster's exclusive ticketing contracts, venues often use multiple ticketing companies for the same event, and fans see lower fees and more innovative ticketing products as a result. We also allege that Live Nation Ticketmaster uses these long-term ticketing agreements with venues and its control over those venues to unlawfully pressure artists into agreeing to use its promotion services. In fact, Live Nation often sacrifices profits it could earn as a venue owner by letting its venues sit empty, rather than opening them to artists who do not use Live Nation promotion services, even during peak concert season.

Live Nation has not only deployed anti-competitive tactics to coerce artists and venues into using its services and to charge fans excessive fees, it has also worked strategically and illegally to eliminate the threat of potential rivals from emerging across any of its businesses. As detailed in our complaint, Live Nation suffocates its competition using a variety of tactics, from acquisitions of smaller regional promoters and venues, to threats and retaliation, to agreements with rivals designed to neutralize them. This has included acquiring or co-opting key independent promoters. This is a pretty big deal.

Joining us right now is Morgan Harper with the American Economic Liberties Project. Morgan, glad to have you. You often are talking about monopolies. This is a prime example of what happens when one company can dominate an industry. That was a hell of a lot, AG Merrick Garland said right there. Oh, it sure was, because this is a huge, huge historic case. going to be one of the biggest cases of antitrust history in the sense that we have the government that is saying one of the most profitable companies in the country, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, billions of dollars a year, you're a monopoly, and we think you should be broken up. And we haven't really seen that since AT&T, when they broke them up and kind of forced them to have to

break up into all these other parts and create more competition in the telecom space. This Department of Justice has been extremely aggressive about having these cases against Google and also Apple. And Live Nation Ticketmaster is very much in that vein of taking on some of the most powerful companies in our country that are using, in this case, consumers, artists, and other business owners to make sure that they capture as much of the market as possible. And to hear him say, oh, we'll lose money over here to make money over here, that's what you can do when you got a monopoly. Exactly. And because they know they're going to get the upside overall, right? They're making a lot of money off of, right? They're making a

lot of money off of the fees. They're making a lot of money off of these tours and promotions. And ultimately, it's about maintaining your power because they know what will definitely lose them money is if they have real competitors who are able to capture a larger share of the market. So they need to protect that power at all costs to keep other business owners from being able to compete that exists. And then also any entrepreneurs that would think of entering the market and trying to innovate and create a better, cheaper product for fans. Look, there were a lot of complaints, but I dare say the group they pissed off the most were Taylor Swift fans.

Yeah, Swifties definitely brought the fun, the live events industry. And that was fall of 22 when she launched her tour, and they were supposed to have this whole sale process and verified fan process that was going to make sure that people got tickets early, and it was a complete debacle. The system shut down. And a common argument we heard kind of defending Live Nation Ticketmaster that they advanced was, well, that was just unprecedented. Taylor Swift is one of the most popular artists in the world.

Well, then why did you as a company say that you could manage that? And that gets into this market power issue. Maybe it's not the best idea to just have one company that's in charge of selling all of the tickets for one of the biggest artists in the world when she's launching a global tour. And also, maybe if you do, as a company, say you're going to do that, you need to invest in the technology to make sure that you have an adequate product to manage it. But as we see in a lot of industries, these tactics are all very similar. Once you're a monopolist, you don't have to invest in technology. You don't have to make sure you're offering the best product because you know that artists, fans have nowhere else to go. Questions from our panel along. Victoria Burke,

you're first. Why is it so hard for the artists, particularly these bigger artists that have been complaining about Live Nation for years, Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen and some others, why is it so hard for them to break the power of Live Nation? You know, to some extent, it appears as if they could almost go off on their own in some way and make money. But is that just not true because Live Nation controlled everything? Let me hop in right here.

It's infrastructure. It's infrastructure. It's the same reason why you have artists, even a Beyonce, that's still, when you talk about a record label, I mean, the reality is when you have the infrastructure, when you have the technology, when you have the linkage in terms of locations. So basically what Live Nation did was they basically took over everything from end to end. So they took over the building. They could have the software. They took over the whole deal when it comes to how do you access the tickets, the premium stuff and the marketing. So basically

they were like, oh, we're a one stop shop., keep in mind, Live Nation also is a record label. So, again, their whole deal is we got everything. So even if you are a top artist, that's a lot of infrastructure and manpower to be able to, and it's scale. So, look, a Beyonce doesn't tour every year. So the reality is, the only way you can justify So look, a Beyonce doesn't tour every year. So the reality is, the only way you can justify the infrastructure, frankly, if music artists did what the movie artists did years ago

with United Artists, and they said, hey, we're gonna create our own deal and service each other, but one artist can't build that infrastructure because you don't, you're not doing multiple concert dates. Morgan, go ahead. Yeah, that's absolutely right. You don't have the control over all of these business lines.

Live Nation Ticketmaster, just like Attorney General Garland said, is dominating ticketing. They're dominating tours. They're dominating artist management, and they're dominating venue ownership of the largest venues in the country. They own between 70 and 80 percent of the largest venues in the country. So if you're trying to make money as an artist, the office says, I need to be playing live by Live Nation's rules. The other dynamic here that's relevant is, you know, the impact to shooting. Where artists are able to make money now is the tour, just like Roland was saying.

I mean, Beyonce doesn't go on tour every year because when she goes on tour, she's got to go on tour tour. You know, it's like it's a lot of dates. It's global. It is a whole operation. And Live Nation is able to pull that off. And they promise you that they're into the biggest and most profitable, profitable venues across the country and the world. Now, I will say one dynamic, just like talking about other countries, because maybe you've heard getting back to the Swifty thing, some people are traveling to Europe to go to these Taylor Swift shows because it's cheaper to get a flight, to fly to Europe,

and get a ticket in Stockholm, Sweden, than what it would be to buy a ticket in the United States of America. Well, that was a case for Beyonce, same. Yeah, Sweden, than what it would be to buy a ticket in the United States of America. Well, that was a case for Beyonce. Same. Yeah, exactly. Same. And so why is that? Because Europe actually has laws that are being followed that bans, for example, these

exclusive contracts that says a venue can only work with one ticketing platform. P1 is going to be Ticketmaster because you want to make sure that you get the biggest and most popular artists in the world. And they have to play by – they have a little bit more flexibility in Europe to actually say, no, you're not allowed to have these exclusive contracts. And you're allowed as a venue to choose which of these ticketing companies you want to use. What does that do? It lowers the fees. And it also can often result in a higher quality product for consumers.

Yeah. Joy? Okay, so first of all, I'm on board of the National Consumer League, and let me tell you, I'm not speaking for them, but I'm telling you, these consumer issues are truly defining. You're part of the Ticaster Coalition, NCL. Yes. These consumer issues are still defining this administration. They are still defining it. They are defining this administration. These are the things.

Yes. And I think I'm having a little tech difficulty. These are the things that people think about when they say that they're feeling the squeeze in the economy. They're feeling cheated. So it's so savvy and so smart to go to the heart of what people are experiencing day to day. And that is an economic quagmire where they just can't get ahead. They want to go have fun and they're being cheated there. Elections matter.

Elections matter. Yeah, absolutely. I agree. And, you know, it's funny. Sometimes with the ticketing issues, people say, oh, this is kind of silly. Why would the administration be focusing on such concerts? That's not, you not a kitchen table issue. It's like, well, actually, this is one of the things that traditionally had been an affordable luxury. Everybody would be able to go to a concert, see their favorite artists. And if now you need $1,000 to be able to go to a show, well,

that's getting completely unattainable for most of the population. And that's crazy. And it doesn't need to be like that. And so I agree with you. I mean, I think this administration has really led in a lot of ways on starting to check this corporate power and make sure that we're getting a better deal as consumers and also, you know, for a lot of folks, entrepreneurs and business owners. Greg. Thank you, Roland. And thank you, Morgan. When Labnation said they only made like 1.4% profit or something, I said, let me go look into this. I mean, they're making so much money and the numbers just blew me away. So my question is really about how they make their money in an area that I didn't even think about

until I read an article in Yahoo Finance that said the company's concert business, which consists of merchandise sale and music events, generated $4.87 billion. This is in the fourth quarter of last year when they reported a $5.84 billion revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023. But they said the ticket sales were only $739.8 million. How much money are they making off merchandise sales? They control that too? They do. And this is an interesting thing that doesn't get as much attention, but once they start owning the venues and gobbling those up, then what they've been doing is, you know, and I don't know that the DOJ comes into this as much, but they start pushing out, you know, a lot of the small businesses that might have traditionally provided concessions, provided merchandise. Maybe an artist would contract with their own merch person and bring them along with tour.

But once they have that power, then live nation can start setting the rules for every aspect of that tour. And so, you know, we actually just had an event recently and heard from a guy who's an executive at StubHub. And he said down to the water that is served at Live Nation venues, it will be by what they want. And it's because they've got a deal. They're getting kickbacks all over the place. And they're not going to let you make any decisions as an artist or as a concert promoter. Last point here, Morgan. And again, I keep talking about elections have consequences.

Here you got a Biden-Harris administration going after Live Nation, capping credit card fees, telling airlines, you're going to be paying folks when you screw them over as well. I mean, on and also the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

goes over to the Supreme Court. They win as well. I mean, on and also the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau goes over to the Supreme Court. They win as well. The reality is you have a Biden-Harris administration that is doing more to protect consumers from junk fees, from a lot of this craziness than any Republican administration. Oh, yeah. I mean, we are in unprecedented territory. And I know we talked about it before, and it can be hard to see it because it's not always talked about. But there has been a real sea change in the approach of how we can use the levers of government to protect us as citizens, as consumers. And again, I think that's a really important point. It's like lowering prices for us as consumers, but also making sure if you do take that risk, which is a huge startup business,

that you actually have some room to grow. And maybe there is an entrepreneur out there, maybe somebody watching right now that has an idea about what a better ticketing experience be than Ticketmaster, a black owned ticketing firm that we could all be using with every type of different event that we want to do. it is virtually impossible for them to get any traction because if they do, they will be destroyed by Live Nation ticket. And so, yeah, there's so many examples from this minute really using the power of government to protect us that we need to be lifting up and making sure people know. Absolutely.

Morgan, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Good to see you. Thanks. Folks, we'll come back. a lot. Good to see you. Thanks, folks. We come back. We'll discuss California's reparations plan. That's next on Rolling Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstone Network. Next on the black table with me, Greg Carr, Dr. Gerald Hooper, a man regarded by many as the most important historian of our time. He provides us a history lesson I'm betting

you've never heard before. Texas enslavers who plan to continue the conflict even after Appomattox, even after the formal surrender of Robert E. Lee. Dr. Horne talks about his new book, The Counter-Revolution of 1836, Texas, Slavery, and Jim Crow and the Roots of U.S. Fascism. You do not want to miss this conversation. Only on The Black Tape. 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 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 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. 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. People, right here on the Black Star Network. Hey, what's up? Keith Turner in a place to be. Got kicked out your mama's university. Creator and second producer of Fat Tuesdays, an air hip-hop comedy. But right now, I'm rolling with Roland Martin,

unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamn believable. You hear me? The drone has been missing from Holyoke, Massachusetts since February 24th. The 16-year-old is 5 feet tall, weighs 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Nyesha Calderon should call the Holyoke, Massachusetts Police Department. 413-322-6970. 413-322-6970. 6 9 7 0. California lawmakers passed a bill to create an agency for black residents to research their family lineage and confirm the eligibility for potential restitution. They also passed bills that will create a fund for reparations programs and compensate black families for property that the government unjustly seized. This the set of reparations proposals is now headed to the state assembly. The proposals were inspired by recommendations

made by California's Reparations Task Force. The First of the Nation Committee spent years determining how California could compensate black residents for its history of racism and discrimination. Greg, you're one of the experts who testified for me with this task force. Your thoughts on this action? Yes, along with our dear friend and brother Bill Spriggs, who was one of the key economists to help them work out some of the details. I think this is obviously progress.

I still have a fundamental disagreement with them on the question of lineage-based reparations. I'm looking forward to the New York task force, a number of people involved with that, L. Joy Williams, the Reed Daniels favors out of Megha Evers, Center for Race and Justice. She's actually a commissioner there, Ron Daniels and others. I'm looking forward to see how they take the next step forward in terms of that, because I really think that the lineage, the argument—I understand the legal argument very well, better, I think, than probably many of the people who are making it who don't understand that, particularly this federal bench, will use lineage as a proxy for race.

They're not going to escape the racial issue by going to lineage. But I do think, finally, that this legislation, which proposes, among other things, to create a fund to have—to help people trace their lineage, will allow us to really flesh out the possibilities and, I think, the limits of trying to use that as a strategy for reparations. I think it's a step forward. Now, we know the governor of California, of course, Gavin Newsom, has signaled that he's not supporting any cash payments. He's already said that.

But you cannot look away from the fact that through organization, through voting, and through the political will of those involved in that process, we have taken the next step forward, at least in advancing the possibility of reparations in this country. So it's a good thing. Joy? First of all, thank you for acknowledging Bill Spriggs, who is someone that I loved very much, and his passing is a great, you know, is a great loss to the community. So thank you for that. I think that it's so funny when you were talking about reparations and where we are in this country, we're actually able to have an intelligent discussion about it. Even in the Marilyn Mosby, you know, when she did her interview earlier today, her press conference, she had in the back to Mario, whoists are so afraid of is more of these types of reparations efforts. And they are trying to undermine any legal basis for us being able to correct past harms, not just, you know, legal past harms, but economic harms.

That can be, you know, that can be, you know, that can be, you know, that can be counted, right? And then we can attach a dollar figure to. And so I really think that's where all of this is going. All of this is going. A great fear about accountability, because we are having private companies who are choosing to say, you know what, we have to pay back some reparations. We've had states having reparations commissions. And if you look at it, there's only one result, right? I mean, you know, I know Greg might have differences of opinion on different aspects, but overwhelmingly

you're going to find the same conclusions. And this is building to a national. We mentioned Ron Daniels. Ron Daniels is working on a national effort, along with Sheila Jackson Lee, around a study of reparations, which we're hoping the president will do, right, as to lay the groundwork and the basis for what will ultimately be future court cases, because we know that we have to do that. We have to—the record plain.

They know where this is going. We have to know where this is going. We have to know. We had an economic harm done to us in this nation. This is also the fight against, you know, accurate, factually accurate education, not just black history, but true factual American history that takes into account. So I know I've gone on too long, but I'm telling you, this is the game. Lauren? This is the game.

Yeah. You know, I respect Dr. Carr more than anybody in this world. And I'm sure he worked on this in a way that was, you know, the best for everybody. But anytime I hear anything about studies, anytime I hear anything about commissions, and Virginia, there's an obsession with studies as well when race comes up. We're always doing a study. And I'm confused as to why we need to study why a group of people working for free for 245 years should not in some way be paid back monetarily in cash. And so, Gavin Newsom can go take a hike, can go fly a kite. That's crazy.

I don't hear anything about studies when we're appropriating $92 billion to Israel and to Taiwan and to Ukraine. You know, Congress doesn't commission a study. And I know that Gavin Newsom is not a member of Congress. He's a governor of a state. But it amazes me how that type of money could move. That's a one-time appropriation out of nowhere, $92 billion. That was, like, less than a month ago that Congress appropriated that money. And you're telling me that's going outside the country, that's our tax dollar going outside of this country, and we're not talking about cash payment with regard to a group of people who were kidnapped from another continent and brought over here to work for free to build the strongest country on the planet? No way.

And I think—I'm just going to quote you, Dr. Carr. I think I heard you say last Saturday, the reason we compromise is that we are afraid we're going to lose and that we assume that we're going to lose. And I just feel like I get that that's what the starting point was of the conversation, but I think the starting point needs to be another starting point. I know what it was with Conyers and, of course, with Sheila Jackson Lee. And it always is leading to some commission or some study or some discussion. What is there to discuss? So I'm a little bit, as you might be able, as you may have been able to tell, I'm a

little bit, you know, I'm sort of not in a good mood about this idea about a study or commission or creating an agency. Absolutely. I'm going to jump in, though, just to say this. This is about a court record. This is about being able to establish even more of a modern record, because we have a judicial system, right, that is saying we need updated information. We need not just what happened in the past. And I get it, sis. I'm with you. I saw that eye roll. But you're right. I'm just saying we know what they require.

And therefore, we might have to go and get it and do that work. I hate it. But I think it's true agree with you, Lauren. Studies later, when you think about reparations, Ray Jenkins and Sister Joanna Watson, who basically transitioned in Detroit, H.R. 40 was a proposal for a reparations study bill. The United States of America doesn't owe us anything. And let me say why. There is no moral ground for reparations with a criminal enterprise like the United States of America. I need to be very clear about this. This is why I think lineage-based reparations ultimately is a nonstarter.

The United States of America exists in a modern world system that was based on set colonialism and violence. Israel is the United States representative in that region, and it's part of what is really turning out to be the end of the age of Europe over this last 500 years. What you're seeing now, even as the ICC is now swearing out warrants against Bibi Netanyahu and his defense minister, even as the president of Kenya is at a state dinner tonight, William Rucho and his wife Rachel, because the United States is leaning on him to put Kenyan bodies

in harm's way on behalf of U.S. and other French corporate interests and Canadian corporate interests and hate. We live in a world, in a globe. The idea that we would turn to nativism at this point and base it on a moral appeal, they owe us, that's a nonstarter in a society where there are no laws. The Supreme Court is showing us that. Law has to be backed up by political will and organization. And the turn inward on lineage, ask the Native Americans how that works, because I guarantee

you who's going to show up with one black, formerly enslaved ancestor is going to be them white people who track it down and get a check. Ask the Native Americans how that works, and blood quantum and all that. At a moment when we have to think about global solidarity politics, the idea that, you know, you've got people who would say, oh, we need to sue the African countries for reparations because they're the ones that sold us. Bulletin. There were no African countries, fool. There were no nation states in Africa, fool. The places where you're saying you should seek remedy in Africa didn't exist. The whole map was carved up by Europe. What we are engaged in at this point—and I agree with you, Joy—it has to be studied.

We have to educate ourselves to understand that the source of reparations, the political demand for reparations, is a matter of solidarity politics. You can force anybody to do anything if you can organize enough people to do it, and it is in their interest to concede if you can organize enough people to do it, and it is in their interest to concede to you. It is in the interest of the United States government to support Israel. By the way, last I checked, Israel is not in the United States, although some people will call it the 51st state.

Why? Because it's in the political interest of the United States government and the people who back Israel to do that. We don't organize ourselves enough to be able to bring that to bear. It's not going to come through descendants of slaves or slavery, those kind of organizations. It's going to come through solidarity politics with black people everywhere. That's when you see the United States government move. So I agree with you. I mean, you know, anyway, let me pause there, because people kind of get confused when you start talking about lineage. You can wrap yourself in

that red, white, and blue flag till you turn red, white, and blue in the face. It ain't going to move an inch in a white nationalist country. It's not going to give you anything until you stand up and say, I'm going to force you to give me something because I am self-determining. That's the foundation for any reparations case, not a begging plea. Last story here. Another 160,000 borrowers can thank the Biden administration for canceling their student loan debt. The Education Department says these latest cancellations will erase $7.7

billion in federal student loans. With the latest action, the administration is canceled. 167 billion dollars in student loan debt for nearly 5 million Americans. Through several programs, the latest relief would go to 54,000 borrowers who enrolled in

Biden's new income driven repayment plan 39,000 enrolled in earlier income driven plans at about 67,000 eligible through the public service loan forgiveness program. And of course, Republicans can't stand this program and they don't support it at all.

And so again, buy it here gets bar hairs gets another four years. You're going to see more student loan debt relief forgiven. Don't be shocked if Republicans and Donald Trump wins. They try to claw that money back, Greg. Absolutely. They're going to come try to get their money out your bank account. Isn't it remarkable, Roland, that we live in a society, in a country where there is no education system that is national because everybody in this country, where there is no education system that is national, because everybody in this country was never supposed to be educated. So people trying to literally improve their lives by going into deep debt, these white

nationalists are against them, because in their mind, just like women don't have any rights, nobody in this country has any rights except them. They have the right to rule. So, of course, they say, well, if you go into debt, that's your fault. Really? Then I want Taylor Greene and Getz and all them to give back my tax money so we can use it for something else on them PPP loans. They do not believe in a society where everybody in that society has a fundamental right to

eat, to sleep, to go to school. They don't believe in it. So this type of cruelty isn't something that is hard to understand. 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. 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. 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 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 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 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 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. Lauren out of these people when I post this on social media, they go, oh, $6 billion, that's nothing. Oh, $167 billion, that's nothing. That's meaningless.

Forgive it all. I got to remind them the Supreme Court, that MAGA Supreme Court, blocked Biden from doing that. But this idea that $167 billion forgiven for 5 million people is nothing. To me, that's stupid.

Yeah, I don't pay any attention to anybody that's stupid that thinks that that's not real money. It is amazing, though, on the Republican side, you hear so many arguments about how comes to educating our citizens in the United States, it is the Republican Party who is trying to make that as difficult as possible. I just think that they want a lower class economically. They want—you know, when you think about who's really in charge of the government, which is really money and lobbyists, and the banking lobby just wants people to be on the hook that they can make money off of. And there's just a whole industry behind that.

And it has absolutely nothing to do with making the United States the strongest and most intelligent nation that it can be. And this should be an easy issue. And when we look around the globe at how other countries do it, they make it a lot easier for their citizens to attain a higher education. And that's why those countries are beating us. So it's amazing. It is really an amazing argument that we hear certain sectors of our political world arguing

against, making it easier for people to get a good education. Joy? I mean, at the end of the day, this is also about the Biden administration trying to deliver on a campaign promise, but also trying to improve our economy. college, you know, costs that did need to happen, if they can address that, then that means that's more money that people can put into starting a business, into starting a family. There are people that because of student loans, they don't want to have children. You know, there are people who aren't able to buy homes. This is about us making our America sustainable well into the future. Now, the only thing I would say

is let's pair it with trying to make sure current students in college are able to have affordable higher education. I don't, we haven't really addressed that. Well, because, because, because, because the federal government can't address that. The reality is that's a state issue. If you talk about public institutions, then you've got private schools. So the federal government simply can't address that. And so people also have to recognize that one of the reasons tuition has exploded because states have underfunded colleges.

And so the colleges have now turned into, frankly, like any other store. Oh, guess what? We got to jack up prices because less money is coming from the state. And so that's what you're seeing. And so a small amount of people, either you're being forced in the debt or you have a small amount of people who can afford to actually go to college who are actually going to college. So unfortunately, that's what we see happening all across the country. I do got to get this in real quick here. We talked about this on yesterday, folks. We talked about the importance of federal judges. You heard us discuss the South Carolina case earlier in the show, the South Carolina decision, and we talked about the importance of Supreme Court rulings. For the life of me,

I don't understand how the White House and how Democrats are not making a big deal out of this. I saw a tweet with Senator Chuck Schumer. I saw a tweet from Jamie Harrison. But again, this shows you what happens, how Republicans look at federal judges differently. OK, so I decided to put my own damn graphic together. Look at this here. They crossed the threshold of 200 federal judges appointed by President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris.

58 of the 200 are black. 58 of the 200 are black. I'm gonna read you this story right here. I find it interesting. In eight years, I want you all to listen closely because for all y'all folk who talk about Obama is our forever president and y'all talk about,

oh, what he meant. Now keep in mind, keep in mind, Mitch McConnell blocked 100 of his judges. 100, he blocked them. But of the number of federal judges who were picked by Obama, total 19%, 62 were black.

I won't let that just sit in for a little bit right here for the folk who are probably listening on. What'd you just say? Yep. In eight years, listen to me clearly, in eight years, in eight years, the nation's first black president has picked 62 black federal judges.

In three and a half years, Biden has picked 58. In eight years, Obama picked 62. In Biden's first term so far, and remember, they still are dominating judges, he's picked 58. Then I had this idiot, and I love it when these dumbasses say stuff, these simple Simons. Had this idiot on Instagram go, I'll buy it doing, he picking black women. That's all, folks. Of the 58 black federal judges, 37 are black women. 21 are black men.

Oh, for all the simple Simons out there, when you look at the previous, first of all, let's remember. Donald Trump, 4% of his federal judges were black. George W. Bush, 7%. 4%. More than 25% by Biden. Now, of course, you got the simple assignments who say, oh, man, these judges, they don't mean nothing. I'm going to go back to the

reparations conversation, because I had this one dude who was on Twitter, and I had, what the hell was his name? I don't know, but I'm going to find his name, because I had to smack his ass. And he was talking about not voting,

and Democrats ain't this, ain't that. He was just going on and on and on. And I said, that's a curious position. How can you yell cut the check when you need politicians to cut the check? And then if the money is allocated and if it's signed into law, there's going to be a lawsuit.

The black farmer's money, $5 billion has been... You actually think if Congress decided to allocate $500 billion or trillion to black people, ain't going to be a lawsuit? You out your damn mind. So there's a federal lawsuit. You know what you're gonna need? Federal judges.

Oh, I'm sorry, my bad. In order to get the money, you need the House and the Senate. In order to get the federal judges, you need the Senate. In order to get to federal judges, you need the Senate. In order to get to federal judges, you need the White House, because the president appoints judges, the Senate confirms judges, oh, and the Constitution states that any appropriation begins in the House,

which means you got to control the House. You got to control the Senate. You got to control the White House. Because in order for the money to be advanced in the House, you got to have a party that likely supports your position. You can't name me one Republican that does. In order for it to go to the Senate, in order for you to have judges confirm, you need to control the Senate in order for you to have judges confirm you need to control the Senate. Do some of y'all now understand what Civics 101 looks like? So for anybody out there who continues to post on social media, make stupid-ass comments

in the chat, oh my God, this judge, this don't mean nothing, this ain't nothing, this ain't helping black people. Really? This ain't helping black people. Really? That tells me right there that you have no idea what the hell you're talking about. Lauren? Yeah, you know, part of the problem is that judges is an issue that is not as tangible as things like gas prices and the earned income tax credit. Until they rule against your ass.

And then stimulus checks and things that people see as the real, you know, result. It's hard to quantify, judges. The other thing is the Democratic Party doesn't have its act together with its messaging in a unified way for issues like this. And I think the other thing is, as I've said before, I don't think the Democratic Party is particularly interested in direct messaging that says, we have selected these black folks, right? We have selected 58 black people. You notice that that commercial today, the Trump commercial that Biden has, where the whole basis of that commercial is that, you know, Donald Trump doesn't like black people.

I mean, that's how they message the black people. They don't really say, OK, well, these are the quantifiable things that we've done, and these are the folks that we have selected, and Katonji and this and that. So I think there's a reluctance when it comes to the decisions of white consultants to say definitively, these are the black folks that we have put in power. We, the Biden administration, it seems to me that they are very reluctant to do that. It makes sense, Joy, to properly explain. Again,

I saw a statement yesterday that went out, but I'm going to say it again. In fact, the statement that went out yesterday, I even had to, I was like, and I say this all the time, Roe ain't talking people of color. I'm real clear.

I know what I lead with. So if you come at me with the people of color, I'm going to instantly say, what's the black number? Now, I get it. I get it why they sit here and do what they do, but I'm going to ask for the black number and that's exactly what happened

when the statement came out I was like hey what's the black number Joy that's right I've said it a million times on this show I'll say it again when you respect our vote you will fight respect our vote,

you will fight for our vote. Let me be clear. If any politician wants to court a particular constituency, they specifically say, this is what we have done for you. They articulate it. They're not worried about what someone else is going to think about it they are very clear i've been in those offices i won't even say what communities because i don't want to bind in any foolishness but you can use your imagination when they want to talk to those communities they are very clear here is what i did for you here was the date the hour the time and here is how it benefited you culturally, socially, economically. I mean, let's be clear. This is the release.

You can see right here. They said that these judges are exceptionally well-qualified. They come from every walk of life, and collectively, they form the most diverse group of judicial appointees ever put forward by a president. Sixty-four percent are women and 62% are people of color. But again, for me, Greg, I was like, I need y'all to specify the black people. And again, when you see that number, when you see, I can't see number of judges. I see 200.

I want to know how many. When they came back 58, I said damn. Damn. I mean, the fact that he's appointed and gotten confirmed four fewer black judges than Obama got in eight years,

I'm sorry. That's damn good. I ain't gonna sit here and say, ah, well, you know. No, because and here's the deal. We just had retired judge Vanessa Gilmore on yesterday. Even with that, 78 percent of all federal judges are white. So it's a whole lot of catching up to do. Absolutely. Catching up or remaking the country.

You know, there's no secret that I'm not a particular fan of Barack Obama. I'm not against him. I'm indifferent because politicians don't have to be your friends. We don't care whether we like Barack Obama. He likes us. We don't care whether Joe Biden, we like him or he likes us. The question is, what's he going to do? Remember, you know, if Barack Obama had had more support, perhaps he would have done something differently than the foolish decision to nominate Mary Garland to be on the Supreme Court instead of nominating a black

woman, perhaps galvanizing the electorate going into the election. I damn so tried to tell him. Well, yeah, but the chocolate wonder has always been blackest when it comes to asking for your vote. If you look at his record, that shouldn't be surprising. At the same time, it was Joe Biden who put Kataji Brown Jackson on the bench, and it was Joe Biden who nominated and she got appointed Linda K. Grigsby, the first black woman to sit on the district court in Maryland.

That doesn't mean that a white woman judge or a white man judge may have been harsher on Marilyn Mosby, but I guess we'll never know, would we? And I don't know that we necessarily want to take that chance. I'm sure that Marilyn Mosby wouldn't want to, as she is at home with her daughters tonight. That having been said, we know that there are limits to demographics. An Asian-American Pacific Islander—and we heard that when Devin Ambrose told you about James Ho on that Fifth Circuit down there in the South—he came out of the Federal Society and the first Liberties Institute.

When he was working for the federal government, he was saying, why are the boarders legal, and money should be all over politics and LBGTQ? Now, hell no. We have no Defense of Marriage Act. I don't give a damn. And I don't care about anything, whether it be medical malpractice or a woman's right to choose, and kill everybody in the death penalty. If they win this election, Hogue could be on that federal bench, and he would be elevated

as the. If they win this election, Ho could be on that federal bench, and he would be elevated. I mean, on the Supreme Court, demographics is a point of entry. But remember Clarence Thomas out of South Carolina, that Gullah Geechee boy out of Pinpoint, Georgia, about black as it comes. And he is a whole traitor to the race. And Joe Biden was the chair of the Senate committee that let him come through and shut off Anita Hill and all them other women that knew everything about his point of habits to the crazy stuff he said when he was over EEOC. But it was Joe Biden that shut it down. But guess what? It doesn't matter whether we like Joe Biden or don't like Joe Biden. The Joe Biden of 2024 ain't the Joe Biden of 1991 because he needed us.

This is how politics works. Stop acting like politicians are y'all's friend. Stop listening to Lenard McKelvey or Cameron. Pay some damn attention to what is going on. Tune into this network. Be in the conversation. And then make an informed choice.

A politician is a tool. This federal bench is going to be so important going forward because if these white nass masses get back in office, and if you don't want to read the almost thousand pages in project 2025, you should probably tune into this network as we discuss that more and more over the upcoming month. Why? Because they done told you what they going to do. You think your citizenship is safe? You think that's going to protect you?

Wrong. You think somehow it can't get worse? Wrong. That federal bench is clearing the way to make everything legal when it comes to our oppression. You've got to pay attention. You better understand the power of judges. Absolutely. Folks, that's it for us. Lauren, Joy,

Greg, I certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. First of all, y'all have a fantastic Memorial Day. Oh, by the way, for all the folk out there who don't quite understand killer music, we got Memorial Day. It's taking place on Monday. Ain't that a black day, Greg? Memorial Day out of South Carolina. Decoration Day.

Those black soldiers led by children, Roland, as we've talked about many times. They dug up that old racetrack in South Carolina, reburied those veterans, and it was black people who fought our way out of our oppression that started the ritual that the Union Army soldiers looked over and said, what the hell? And said, that's a good idea. And that's where Memorial Day came from, brother. We honored our own. So, yes.

And for everybody who has served, my father and his brothers, everybody who's in the military, not there because you love the patriot, not, but because you're making a better way for us. Understand. Y'all take a couple of days off. Go eat some barbecue, play some bit with us. I don't know. What are the fights y'all get in down there in Texas, Ron? I don't guess it's gumbo.

I mean, what y'all fight about on Memorial Day? Barbecue? I'm not sure. Well, there'll be some folk. They'll be having barbecue. Some of us will be having gumbo. Tomorrow, I'll be at my high school, Jack Gates High School, presenting the two annual scholarships that I give out every single year. We'll live stream that on the Black Star Network. And then on Saturday, I'm actually going to be sitting on a panel.

The Black Trade Union folks are having their meeting in Houston, so I will be at a panel on Saturday. So there'll be a little work to be. I will get in some barbecue and some golf while I'm there. But I got some work to do while I'm there. Folks, don't forget, tomorrow we'll be focusing on the fourth anniversary, the fourth anniversary of the death of George Floyd. Of course, that took place May 25th,

and so we'll be focusing on that on tomorrow's show. So look forward to that. And, of course, you know, look, we're here. Earlier today, folks, we had a camera out there for the news conference for Marilyn Mosby. Listen, and I keep telling y'all this here, and I'm really trying to help y'all out. Basic Black, which is the longest-running public affairs show out of Boston, got canceled.

Okay? Now, that was a black-targeted show. It wasn't black-owned. But that's important because I need y'all to see what's going on. How black information, how you're seeing the cutting off of that. Byron Allen wanted black folks to stand with him in his battle with Comcast. Black folks did. He canceled all of his news shows except one.

An entertainment show by Trey. Mark Lamont Hill Daily Show, gone. Matter of fact, they ain't even renewed Mark's contract. Everybody, Kate Williams' show, gone. So when y'all, and I'm telling y'all right now, Lauren knows if we cover stuff, ain't that many of us out there covering news? When you covering stuff in D.C. and Virginia and Maryland,

hell, let's not even talk about around the country. Because I'm telling y'all, we're out there. We travel around this country and it's very few black folks who are there. Who are there covering the news.

And y'all have heard me say this a long time, a long time. 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 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. 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 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. if we get a look up and we asking somebody else to tell our story. I'm telling y'all, you gonna rule the day. You gonna rule the day and you gonna be sitting here saying, I don't know what happened, I don't know what happened, what happened and it's gonna be like,

well you saw what happened. Gone. Y'all it's happening before our very eyes. You're seeing layoffs, you're seeing stuff get canceled. So we wish we had the kind of funding. I wish I had CNN money, MSNBC money, Fox News money. So we do the best that we can with what we have. But I'm telling y'all right now, what you're seeing around the country,

you are seeing a pulling back on news and information all across this country. And the result of that is Marilyn Mosby not gonna have always an opportunity to tell her story. Now sure, she was on ABC and some other places, but let me remind y'all, they weren't always covering her when she was doing those cases. We were.

A lot of these cases, a lot of these lawyers, when they have these cases, they ain't always there. We are. And so you need to understand what's going on. Matter of fact, I'm sitting here. I was looking for some photos here because, you know, we've been at the NAACP convention, Urban League convention, and the politicians ain't there. Cameras ain't there.

They ain't there. They don't show up. So the amount of black stuff that happens that gets no attention in this country is stunning. Ebony ain't even close to what it used to be. Ebony is basically an Instagram page right now. Essence is not what it used to be. You don't see the kind of stories used to be. Hell, not just 30 years ago when I was sitting here doing stuff for Essence a decade ago. Black Enterprise.

No. They're no longer the Bible of black business. They're not. I'm just calling it what it is, y'all. So your support is vital. What we're putting together, what we're doing here, y'all, is you have no idea. I literally just got a text from a member of Congress who said, you're one of the only people constantly discussing Project 2025.

I literally just got that five minutes ago. And we're putting together a two-hour show solely focused on Project 2025 so y'all understand how evil that plan is. So your support is critical. If we raise a million dollars from our fans every year, folks, again, 20,000 people. Imagine if 20,000 people gave $50. That's $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day.

That's it. Can't give month, 13 cents a day. That's it. Can't give that, give less, totally appreciate it. I got people who give me $1, $5, $12, $8. Appreciate every dollar. You can give more than that, it'd be absolutely great. But I'm telling y'all, today is May 23rd. Between now and November,

mainstream media ain't covering us, and they do. It's gonna rely on some bullshit polls. In the last two months, five black organizations have released black-specific polls, and the only place you have heard about all five of those polls was right here on the Black Star Network. Trust me, that's the case. Check and money order. You can go to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 2003-710196. Cash App, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered,

PayPal, R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com, Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Download the Black Star Network app. Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Also, if you can get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds. All those proceeds, I plow right back into the show.

Just straight up. It's right back into the show. Just straight up, it's right back into the show. You can also, of course, get your, you can download Audible. Of course, you can get the book. I actually read it, so you can actually check it out. And then, when I talk about what we're doing, and some of y'all just,

and I'm just gonna show you this last thing, because some of y'all think I'm joking this real simple we'll show this here just so you understand what I'm talking about this right here is a DJI transmission combo. This right here. Okay. This here allows for us to be able to transmit a signal up to 20,000 feet. So, if so, on June 29th, when we are covering the, which camera are you at? Right over here. June 29th, when we're covering the Poor People's Campaign, we're going to have a remote camera there. We can now be able to go out into the crowd sending a remote signal. Again, because the previous transmitters that we have

only go up to 300 feet, go to 1,000 feet. This is, so this right here, just so y'all know, I'm gonna pull it out. Just y'all just need to understand. This right here, this right here is $3,000 This right here $3,000 okay $3,000. Okay, so understand and we actually need

Three more of these Need three more of these so We're not sitting here. this ain't no BS, you know, we walking around shooting with iPhones. No, we got real broadcast going on here because we know how to cover news, we know how to broadcast news. That rally today, that live, I told y'all that,

that live stream rally we did today, the live stream, the LU800, top of the line, it's the top of the line. Every network got it, that unit right there, that's a $16,000 unit, got two of them. That's 32,000, the rack unit was I think, the rack unit was 30,000. So understand, these are real costs. And we're not sitting here

just sitting on a stream yard in a living room talking about what everybody else is doing. And this is the last thing I'm going to say that I think is important. It's a bunch of folk out there

calling themselves black media. They don't cover shit. They don't call nobody. They don't call nobody. They don't report on nothing. All they do is talk about what other people do. Do you ever see them on the scene? Hell no.

Do you ever see them going out to get news? No. Do you ever see them broadcasting live from anywhere? No. Do you ever see them broadcasting live from anywhere? No. But they claim, oh no, we the new black media. Okay, fine, whatever label you want to call you. And here's my whole deal. If y'all want to watch them,

go and watch them. But I can tell y'all who's actually doing the work. Because we're there. We're going to be on the road this summer. I'm already plotting out the schedule of the places we're going to be on the road this summer. I'm already plotting out the schedule, the places we're going to broadcast from. I'm already looking at, we're going to be in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention. We're going to sit here and we're going to be in, I'm already getting emails

from people saying, hey, please come to my town in Georgia and North Carolina for the election. But all of that costs money. And some dude hit me, he goes, I wonder how much money the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is giving Roland Martin. Zero. We've gotten zero money from the DCCC. We've gotten zero money from the DCCC. We've gotten zero money from the Democratic Government Association. Zero money from Democratic Senator Campaign Committee.

So, understand, we're doing the work. Now, I'm going after the money. We've gotten small money, small money from the Biden campaign. Small. Very small. And I'm saying that, y'all, because when y'all see the ads, that is not big money. But right now other media companies, they raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars and millions of dollars from

political campaign ads. Black-owned media, pittance. So I just want y'all to understand What the battle is and what we're up against Alright folks I'm going to see y'all tomorrow from Houston Holla! Blackstar Network is here

Oh no punch A real revolutionary right now Thank you for being the voice of Black America All momentum we have now We have to keep this going The video looks phenomenal See the difference of Black America. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network

and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? 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'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war.

This 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 starts that in 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.