#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Trump Defying Judges' Orders, Steel/Aluminum Tariffs Impact on Consumers, Married Women & Voting

Episode Date: February 12, 2025

2.11.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Trump Defying Judges' Orders, Steel/Aluminum Tariffs Impact on Consumers, Married Women & Voting Have you ever heard of the executive branch ignoring the judicial branch of government? Well, we are witnessing it now. I'll be speaking with a retired federal judge about what to anticipate as court orders go unheeded. We will discuss potential corruption following an executive order that directs the Department of Justice to halt enforcement of a law prohibiting bribery of foreign government officials. I'll talk to a construction business owner about how the newly imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum will affect his business and customers. And we'll explain how married women could lose their right to vote.  #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.  This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. self. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. 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 Lott. 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 starts that 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.

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Hold no punches. A real revolutionary right now. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller. I love y'all. 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? well today is tuesday february 11 2025 coming up on roller button unfiltered living live on the black start network Have you ever heard of the executive branch ignoring federal judges? Well, that's what Donald Trump is doing. We'll talk to a retired federal judge about how this is a major issue.

We'll also discuss potential corruption on an executive order that directs the Department of Justice to halt enforcement of a law prohibiting robbery of foreign government officials new york mayor eric adams got some good news trump said hey all good drop the charges against him plus i'll talk to a construction business owner about how the newly imposed airs and still aluminum will affect this business and customers. Plus we explained married women could lose their right to vote. Then Elon Musk goes to the White House for a joint news conference with Donald Trump. And it went as expected. Two stupid people talking and a dictator kicks the media out. Well, that's what Trump has done to the Associated Press because they won't call it the Gulf of America. Yeah, lots to discuss.

Folks, it's time to bring the funk. We're rolling right on the filter of the Black Stud Network. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the biz, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the super fat, 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. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's Rollin' Martin Now Martin All right, folks, we are truly dealing with some absolutely crazy times. twice impeached, criminally convicted felony chief Donald Trump has literally said, I don't need to follow these federal judges who are issuing rulings.

His own vice president, J.D. Vance, has said the exact same thing. Elon Musk is openly criticizing the judiciary's authority over the executive branch, and he's even doxing the daughter of one federal judge. Judges have issued temporary freezes on Trump's federal spending

freeze orders, Musk's attempt to access government payment systems, and the administration's controversial push to encourage federal employees to resign. They literally say we can ignore these orders. This is Scott Jennings. We put a video on CNN, first talking about Biden and federal judges, and then defending the craziness of Donald Trump.

Democrats in all the polling we've seen, hate Joe Biden. They're done with Joe Biden, and he's sending them all a $10,000 check in an effort to buy their support. Even Nancy Pelosi, who I'm not often aligned with, as you know, stated on the record, unequivocally, that this is illegal. The president of the United States does not have the authority to do this. So you're saying that a judge should decide how and when money is spent for years and not the president of the United States?

Wow, it's amazing how the tune changes. Here's Laura Ingraham on Fox News giving us her half a cent when it comes to this issue as well. Unelected Obama judge in Rhode Island must be feeling very full of himself tonight because in a ruling issued earlier today, he railed against President Trump and the Doge crew for failing to comply with his order, one judge's order, to unfreeze federal spending. Judge John J. McConnell handed it down after 22 blue states just were up in arms that funding hadn't been restored. Of course, they went for the sympathy play, citing HIV services in the Congo and a public health grant to Namibia. Now, McConnell had ruled previously that the Trump team had overstepped its executive authority by halting the monies.

But if one judge, one, is going to have the power to stop the Trump cleanup crew in its tracks. Hmm. Now, here, this gets even crazier. This is a news conference today of House Speaker Republican Mike Johnson. I've said that some of the Trump actions, early actions, put a halt to them. J.D. Vance said that judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power. You're a constitutional law expert. Ultimately, at the end, if the courts say that the administration is violating the law, should they comply with the court's demands?

Well, of course, the branches have to respect our constitutional order, but there's a lot of game yet to be played. Those will be appealed. We've got to go through the whole process, and we'll get to the final analysis. In the interim, I will say I agree wholeheartedly with Vice President J.D. Vance, my friend, because he's right. What they're doing in the executive branch, I've been asked so many times, aren't you uncomfortable with this? No, I'm not. Because when Congress, for example, appropriates dollars for the executive branch to use, we build in, not only in the spirit of the law, but in the letter of law, a broad amount of discretion for how that is used.

There is a presupposition in America that the commander-in-chief is going to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars. The commander-in-chief, the president of the United States, is going to command those within his branch of government to do the right thing by the people, to be accountable, to not fund drag shows in Middle Eastern countries in in middle eastern countries or south america to not waste our taxpayer dollars and that's what has been uncovered and that's why we and the people are applauding what's happening right now in the new administration because they've taken that seriously and they're doing it the forensic audits effectively that doge and elon musk are leading i met with elon yesterday about this to get an update. And to me, it's very exciting what they're able to do because what Elon and the Doge effort is doing right now is what Congress has been unable to do in recent years because the agencies have hidden some of this from us. There's a lot of oversight activity that goes on around here

all the time, you all know. But when duly elected representatives of the people request information to find all of these abuses and it's not turned over to us, what it takes is an actual audit of the systems and the files themselves that are often hidden from Congress. That's what you're seeing right now. And that's why this is so exciting. They're uncovering things that we have known intuitively have been there, but we couldn't prove it now The proof is being provided and no one can argue the counter to that so stay tuned There's a lot more to come and I think that the courts should take a step back and allow these processes to play out What we're doing is good and right for the American people what doge is doing is making sure that your taxpayer dollars all of us

Are spent in the way that they're intended to be spent and that they're in America's interest and they're financially responsible with the precious taxpayers' money. We have a $36 trillion federal debt and we have got to get a hold of these things. You're going to see it reflected in the reconciliation package as it comes forward. You're going to see it reflected in appropriations as we go forward. And you're going to see it in these efforts to cut the waste, fraud, and abuse. And we think the final number on that is going to be substantial and a game changer in Washington for the country. So we'll have a lot more questions and answers, I know, as the week

goes through or forward. But I'll just tell you. Folks, that man stood there and lied. He just lied, lied, lied. I'm going to get into a lot of that a little bit later. Let me right now bring up retired U.S. United States District Judge Vanessa Gilmore, who joins us now. Judge, always glad to have you here. Thank you. How long were you a federal judge? Almost 28 years, Roland. Okay. As somebody who was sworn to uphold and protect the Constitution, you had to take an oath. You were a part of one of the three branches of government as executive, legislative, and judicial. What do you say when you hear a vice president of the United States, an individual who occupies

the Oval Office, because I don't call him president, when you hear Elon Musk and Republicans in the House and Senate literally support them ignoring a judicial ruling? Is this insane? Roland, thank you so much for having this really important conversation. Our democracy is like a three-legged stool. The three branches of government, the legislative, the executive, and judicial are like a three-legged stool. And if one or two of those legs are non-functioning, the entire thing collapses. And right now we have the executive and the legislative, as you can tell by that clip that you just played a moment ago, basically gone from supporting the

two of the legs of our democracy. And so that leaves only the judiciary as the only leg standing. And it's standing on a wobbly leg at that, because although there are lower court judges, district court judges like myself, and even appellate court judges that are pushing back against actions that are clearly unconstitutional. Supreme Court over the course of the last year. The former and now current occupant of the Oval Office has secured things from that Supreme Court that basically support the type of unconstitutional behavior that we've been seeing. They have essentially held that he cannot be held liable for any criminal activity and that it is executive power to do so. I mean, what happens when a judge issues an order and that order is ignored? There are only a couple of remedies. They are the contempt powers of the court.

They're both civil contempt and criminal contempt. And in a civil contempt situation, if a judge's order is ignored, then we enforce that order by demanding that it be complied with. And our only remedy in that scenario is a fine. If there is a criminal contempt, then there is a possibility of a fine or jail time. But the Supreme Court has already said that there cannot be any jail time. And even if somebody wanted to go down that path, who enforces the judge's criminal contempt proceedings? Well, it's a two-part step. First, the local U.S. attorney has to represent the court as the prosecutor, and the U.S. attorneys are selected

by the President of the United States. And then the Marshal Service has to actually go out and enforce the orders of the court. The Marshal Service is under the executive branch, which means that the Attorney General of the United States would have to be the one to give the order for the Marshal Service to enforce our orders. So basically, there's nobody that would be in place to enforce the potential criminal contempt that might be handed down or meted out if a federal judge's order is ignored. So we're in a catch-22 where all three of the legs of the stools of our democracy are basically gone. And the thing that's insane with that is, as you laid out, because again, the criminal referrals go to the Department of Justice.

The attorney general has to decide. Pam Bondi has already made it clear that I'm going to do whatever the hell Trump wants. And so she doesn't have that. And so in that clip, you heard Speaker Johnson talk about, well, you know, there's a presupposition that the president is going to be a good steward of the resources. Yeah, there's also a presupposition that the person who occupies the Oval Office is not going to act in an unlawful manner. It's going to have a respect for the Constitution. It's going to have a respect for judicial rulings. What these people, what these people are saying is that we don't want to listen or hear anything from any federal judge unless it's the Supreme Court. And that simply is not the system. Because last I checked, there were a number of federal judges

who ruled against President Joe Biden, and Republicans glorified that. They had no problem when federal district judges issued such rulings in the last four years. Think about it. There's precedent in history, Roland, for exactly what you're saying. Think about going back to Brown versus the Board of Education when the Supreme Court decided that the schools of the South had to be desegregated and the states of the South and even some of the judges of the South weren't willing to stand up and enforce what the Supreme Court said. Robert Kennedy was Attorney General then, and he sent U.S. troops, the National Guard, to support James Meredith to help him get into the University of Mississippi. That shows that

leadership has to come from the top. And the leadership at the top is the one that enforces the orders of the president and the orders of the courts. And we have an unprecedented situation here where we have leadership at the top that is not following orders of the federal judges, that is not following orders of the Supreme Court, and that we have a Supreme Court, unfortunately, that is giving cover to essentially unconstitutional and illegal actions. And to your point there, Jack Bass has a fantastic book, I have it on the shelf, called Unlikely Heroes. It is an account of those federal judges on the Fifth Circuit, the role they played in Brown versus Board of Education.

It's called a vivid account of the implementation of the Brown decision in the South by other federal judges who were saying, I don't care, frankly, if you're a racist and you're a Southern Dixiecrat, you are there to speak on the law, not your opinion, the law. And that's what happened. And they said, we do not care. And that's why black folks, NAACP, Legal Defense Fund and others kept going back to the federal courts. In fact, in Louisiana, Louisiana legislature would pass a bill. They would go right to the courts, get an injunction. They would pass another bill the next day to keep black kids out of school. They would go right back and get another one. If you did not have those federal judges honoring the U.S. Constitution, you would not have had Jim Crow brought to its knees. You're exactly right on that. You are exactly right. The judges are really the last line of defense in enforcing the Constitution of the United States. And so we have to have the judges in place to enforce the law as it is written.

And we have to have persons who feel obligated, who understand their obligation to follow the law as it's set forth by federal judges. You know, there's another good book that speaks exactly to the issue that you just raised, Roland. It's called Let Them Be Judged, the Judicial Integration of the Deep South. And it talks about how the judges stood at the forefront of making sure that the law of the land, which was the integration of the schools of the South, would actually take place. And there were four judges on the Fifth Circuit at that time who really decided that they were going to make sure that the mandate of the Supreme Court to integrate the schools of the South was going to actually be carried out. If it was not

for the bravery and the courage of those four federal judges, we would not have been able to achieve the mandate that was dictated by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education. We're at a very different time now, though, where the Supreme Court has actually basically said that the person that should be upholding the Constitution is going to be exempt and exonerated from any attempt to make him follow the Constitution of the United States. So we're at a point now where we don't have any of the legs of government to support what needs to happen to support our constitutional democracy. And that is a very, very dangerous place for us to be in. Some people have said, some people have said that we are facing a constitutional crisis.

Others are like, oh, no, that's too early. We're not there yet. I disagree. I believe when you have the executive branch backed by their party in the legislative branch, as you already said, when they control the law enforcement apparatus, that is the U.S. Marshals. They control the FBI. They control the DOJ. When they are operating in concert, I dare say this is a constitutional crisis. There are no checks and balances right now. The legislature should check the executive branch. The judicial branch should check the executive branch. Right now now we have the legislature, the legislative branch, Congress basically acquiescing because it's controlled by the Republican Party, acquiescing to anything that the executive branch says. And the executive

branch includes the Attorney General of the United States is not willing to do anything to stand up to constitutionally improper conduct. And then the judicial branch is kind of standing there hobbling on that one leg, trying to be the force that keeps the stool standing up. But right now, I don't think that it would be, it's an overstatement to say that we are in a constitutional crisis. Obviously, I don't want you to reveal private conversations, but I'm quite sure you judges are like the rest of us. Y'all have group chats and things along those lines and constitutional law professors. What are you hearing from your fellow judges, whether they are current or retired law professors? I mean, are people saying are they expressing real concern with what they witnessed in barely the first month of this this administration?

Well, you're right, Roland.land judges are just like everybody else we gossip we get together we chit and we chat uh but we have had many conversations about what is going on offline and i would not say anybody that i've spoken to about this issue but there have been several of my former colleagues and they fluctuate between being terrified and being completely, completely perturbed and mad and angry at what is going on with respect to a failure to recognize the sanctity of the orders of federal judges. Many of them are just completely furious about the blatant disregard for the rule of law as it is being handed down by various federal judges in orders in cases that are pending across the United States.

I don't know that there has been any consensus on what can be done other than everybody is just saying that they're just gonna keep doing their job. 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 One, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st and episodes four, five, and six 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 Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill.

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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. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend.

At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Keep fulfilling their oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States, because that is the oath that we took, that judges take, and that that is all that they can do. Try to fulfill their oath to follow the Constitution and laws of the United States, but trust and believe it is a big source of discussion among federal judges right now. And I am sure that discussion is not just democratically appointed federal judges. It's also federal judges appointed by Republicans. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's across the board. People are either terrified or furious and just frankly appalled that judges that are following the law can have their orders, their constitutionally just a slap in the face to both the entire, that entire branch of government and frankly to the American people. All right, retired federal

judge Vanessa Gilmore, I certainly appreciate you joining us on the show. Thank you. All right, folks, I want to bring in my panel right now. Dr. Larry J. Walker, assistant professor, University justice with the EPA out of Washington, D.C. Let's start with you, Mustafa. I played that clip of Speaker Johnson. The reason I found that to be, oh, my God, sheer stupidity is, I mean, like, you know, I'm going to get to the Elon Musk stuff and what they're doing first. But to listen to these so-called law and order people, to listen to them talk about, yeah, this is just not right. It's just unfair what, you know, what these judges are doing. I mean, how dare they tell the executive branch what to do as if federal judges don't speak to the issue of the law. And it's just simply insane. I mean, judges, what they do is they interpret the law.

And after they interpret the law, then they share with folks the actions that should move forward. Now, if Congress was doing their job, the judges may not have to, you know, interpret the things the way that they did. But since they are out there doing their job, and the only one right now who is doing that, then they're doing exactly what they're supposed to do. So, you know, Speaker Johnson knows better. It's just amazing some of the things that folks will say through a political lens instead of doing what's right for the country. And, you know, it's not disappointing because, you know, they've been very clear that the law, you know, bends it for them. At least that's their interpretation of it, that they are allowed to do whatever, you know, they choose to do. And unfortunately, you know, there are very little repercussions in this particular

moment for the actions that they're doing. I mean, but folks have to continue to put a spotlight and to speak out is one of the things that we still have the ability to do. Sorry, you're talking about the system, the system, the system. This is what is difficult for the comprehend. This system of ours really operated on the I'm gonna use i'm gonna use a golf um metaphor uh when you play golf it's called the honor system it's called the gentleman's agreement that if you're a golfer and you stand over your ball and as you approaching your shot and you see your ball move that was not caused by any thing in nature you are to call a penalty on yourself even if no one's looking even if no no cameras or anything the the honor system in golf says that you are to say, fellas, the ball move.

I'm assessing myself a one-stroke penalty. But let's remember, one of the greatest golf cheats ever is Donald Trump. One of the people who cheats sam jackson talked about playing golf with him before he was like that bastard cheats he cheats he run he's literally said oh i've been i've been you know i've won 30 of my club championships lying lying so that's the problem this honor system that we have is that by electing someone to the Oval Office who has integrity, honor and decency, the system simply fails when a crook, when a thug, when a insurrectionist gets control of power and it's made even worse when his own party, unlike those Republicans who marched up the hill to tell Richard Nixon, it's time for you to go. You don't have that. These people are compliant in the crime. Yeah, you know, I think, you know,

Roland, we have to really go back decades in terms of the fight with the courts to pack the courts and also push back on, you know, civil rights legislation since the 1960s. You heard the judge talk about the important role that, you know, federal judges played over the last several decades. The challenge is, Roland,

that, oh, the guardrails are gone. They're gone. You know, that, you know, federal judges paid of last several decades. The challenge is, Roland, that, oh, the guardrails are gone. They're gone. You know, you had a very specific threshold in terms of upholding democracy. And I think people have to differentiate between what a democracy is and power. And right now, the Republicans are saying to you, we're focused on power. We have the executive branch. They certainly control the Supreme Court. You know, they've got plenty of federal judges throughout the United States.

And the legislative body is not willing to do its job. The other thing Roland has missed in this conversation is when Congress appropriates, constitutionally, Congress appropriates money. We do not have a king. You cannot determine when one branch is appropriated money constitutionally mandated for very specific projects and initiatives, and then turn around and say, no, I'm not going to fund that. That's why you keep seeing these federal judges, you see the administration lose in court. I've never seen anything like it in my time working on the Hill. And once again, we have to continue to stay steadfast because you mentioned earlier, whether we're in a constitutional crisis, we're way beyond that now. Okay. And so people are going to really need not only in terms of protests, but also short and long-term range planning in terms of the next, leading up to two years from now, we have to, you know, voting members of Congress and then maybe whoever's up in the U.S. Senate, et cetera,

but also state and local government that folks have to really get active to make sure that, you know, we don't have an authoritarian government because we're headed in that direction in a very quick period of time. Everything's accelerating. And so we have to do something about it. Where these idiots would not allow the Associated Press to attend and cover an event at the White House because the Associated Press chooses to continue to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Mexico. They go, oh, it's the Gulf of America. Trump changed the name and the Associated Press says, no, we go by what it's called. Nope, y'all can't come. We're talking about out of all news agencies, the Associated Press is considered, is deemed the most middle ofof-the-road fair. They cover everything all around the world. That's what dictators do. Oh, we don't like your coverage? You can't come.

Nope, you come out. And then, Randy, what you then have, you have these corporations who are on bended knee. So, for instance, and we've seen this going around, Google has removed from Google calendar things such as Pride Month, Black History Month. And in fact, his was crazy. Trump is actually having a Black History Month reception at the White House, but Google voluntarily made that decision so as to not offend the White House. This is sheer insanity that we are dealing with.

But we told people that this is what these thugs were going to do and they are doing it. We told people and I don't think people believed it because it is almost out of our realm of understanding that something I mean, he has not been in office a month yet or, you know, we're approaching a month and not even a month yet. And we already are seeing this chaos because he does not respect the Constitution. There is a reason why we have three arms of government, and that is for a balance of power. But he doesn't want a balance of power. But he doesn't want a balance of power. He wants all of the power. And if you don't give it to him, he bullies you into giving it to him. And so the ones who are in his corner and advocating for him are the ones who are only ones who are going to receive favor. If you don't bow to him, you're not going to receive favor.

So you see a lot of cowards around President Trump who are on bended knee and doing exactly what he wants them to do. And when you see things like the press, and the press is the connection between the government and the people, but they can't even report the facts. Because let's be honest, Trump and his people don't want us to know the facts. They want us to know propaganda and they want us to remain ignorant because if we are ignorant, then they can continue to change this government into something that we never imagined, that the Constitution never imagined for us. Indeed. And I just want to share with folks, this is the full statement from the Associated Press, from Julie Pace. As a global news organization, the Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism. Today, we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align

its editorial standards with Donald Trump's executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office. This afternoon, AP's reporter was blocked from attending an executive order signing. It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP's speech not only severely impedes the public's access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment. And here's the thing here. This is why this is even more egregious, folks. It's even more egregious because these other news organizations stood silently by and allowed it to happen. The moment the news spread, Mustafa, throughout the White House press corps, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, even Fox News all the other agencies should have said if you do not allow the Associated Press in

we're not going to go in now we know the right-wing networks would have done it we know Newsmax and oin Fox News and Breitbart the Daily Caller they would be. But that's where they should have said, we are going to stand with Associated Press and not do it. But even the media, they're a bunch of cowards because when the Trump campaign pulled this crap and they pulled the credentials of Univision and Jorge Ramos and others, and I think Politico got barred as well, they still showed up. You cannot fight a dictator by bending a knee to the dictator.

I mean, there's power in unity. And when you don't do that, then you allow yourself to become weaker and weaker, more fragmented. And you allow your standards to continue to, you know, shrink. And your power then shrinks as well. And Trump understands that. He understands, you know, that throughout his career, he's been able to bully folks. He's been able to get his way because folks eventually just give in. The press is one of those elements. When you think about how do you have a strong democracy, the press has to have integrity and the press has to be able to stand up independently and tell the news just like it actually is. And when you don't do that, all you have to do is either look currently or throughout history. And whenever you had dictators who, you know, where they had coups or other types of

things, one of the things that they always go for is the news and making sure that the narrative that is being shared is the narrative that they sign off on. So I'm not sure why folks don't understand what is currently going on, how the deconstruction that is happening throughout the federal government and all these pieces of infrastructure that democracy stands on are being taken away. The only way that you don't know what's going on is because you don't want to know. Here is a statement from Eugene Daniels, who is the president of the White House Correspondents Association. In the relationship between the press and the office of the president, coverage and standards are entirely in the purview of individual organizations. The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news,

nor should it penalize working journalists because it is unhappy with their editors decisions. The move by the administration to bar a reporter from the Associated Press from an official event open to news coverage today is unacceptable. The WHCA stands with the Associated Press and calls on the administration to immediately change course. Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents Association. To my point, Randy, you cannot play footsie with these dictators, with these insurrectionists. There must be unity and folks must simply be unbowed in saying we are not going to cater to your every whim and desire. Right. You know, Thomas Jefferson said that our liberty depends on the freedom of the press. And if the press does not have the freedom to connect us with the government and tell us the truth about what is going on, just the facts, then the government can do whatever it wants to do, including be and run a dictatorship. So it is imperative

for the country, really the freedom of this country, for the press as a whole to stand together and do what they have committed to do and report the news so that we can make fair decisions so that we know what's going on so really our actual democracy depends on this and so it is it has been disheartening to me we already know that Trump is a bully that I was aware of but what has shocked me is how cowardly the rest of this country is showing it to itself to be. And I hope that they wake up, that they get some strength from somewhere and protect not just their industry, but this country. any faith in them having any guts larry because i think frankly uh they are uh they they prefer uh to kiss the the the the butt of trump uh and they're also scared they're scared of him

challenging them criticizing them uh and this is a point here where there can be no fear so the question is roland and you know eugene dan Eugene Daniels is certainly one of your esteemed colleagues and enjoyed seeing him on TV and reading his work, is what are you prepared to do? During times like this, from a historical standpoint, people look back and ask how far entities, the free press, legislative, judiciary branches, et cetera, how far were you willing to go to make sure that we continue to be a democracy as flawed as it is? And that's the question, because the only way you can stand up to someone whose nation has shifted to authoritarianism based on world history, not U.S. history, world history, is that individuals will have to be willing to stand steadfast and in some cases put their lives on the line.

Let's be clear about what we're talking about here. And so if you're not prepared to do that, then whatever verbal pushback you offer, it means nothing. You have to meet force with force as it relates to, you talked about earlier. So does that mean all news organizations refuse to show up? Because we're all aware of how much the white house and a particular individual loves the press but you have to have you have to you have to develop some kind of short long-term you know strategy you just can't put out a statement and you know hey just hope that you do this no you have to make a stand that's going to draw attention and if you do anything less than that and considering the time we're in then you're just wasting everyone's time

and you could have not bothered to send me, you know. Well, absolutely. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at a rally today for a union of federal workers. We'll show you what he had to say. Lots more as we break down the madness happening in the nation's capital as a band of thugs is now in charge of the country. You're watching Roller Mark Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Now streaming on the Black Star Network. I was challenged by my uncle early on before I even had a career. Like I was maybe eight years old, and my uncle said, what do you want to do?

And I told him I wanted to be a rapper. And he said, okay, well, I don't know anything about the music business, so what you should do is learn everything there is to know about the music business, and I'll make sure that you have the resources to push you through. And so I went and bought books, All You Need to Know About the Music Business, Hitman. And I just went and bought books. All you need to know about the music business hit me in. I just went and bought a bunch of books to start reading as a 10 year old.

Just read and read. And so I learned, you know, all things licensing, mechanical rights. I learned about publishing. Learned about how composition is broke up into two pieces. The writer's portion and the producer's portion. So by the time I actually learned I came back, I was ready to like, okay, I got it.

He was going to prison. So I had all this information. All this knowledge. All this knowledge. You're like, well, what am I going to do with it now? Hello, I'm Isaac Hayes III, founder and CEO of Fanbase. And right now we're accepting investors in our $17 million round to revolutionize the future of social media. Today, for just $399, you can own 60 shares of stock in Fanbase at $6.65 a share. Go to startengine.com slash fanbase and invest today.

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is stepping up to fill the gap. Don't wait until it's too late invest now invest for yourself and your future go to startengine.com fan base and own the future of social media hey this is motown recording artist kim you You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Boy, he always unfiltered, though. I ain't never known him to be filtered. Is there another way to experience Roland Martin than to be unfiltered?

Of course he's unfiltered. Would you expect anything less? Watch what happens next. All right, folks, Democrats are trying their best to muster a counter offense to the craziness that's emanating from the White House. Today, a federal union held a rally calling out the actions of co-president Elon Musk and others with his fake department Doge and Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries. He spoke there. This is what he had to say. Is FG in the house right now? Are you ready to push back against Elon Musk's unconstitutional and unlawful orders? Are you ready to protect and respect the right to collectively bargain? What an honor and a privilege to be here with all of you. Let me first just thank

President Kelly, so appreciative of his leadership and his partnership, his strength, and his resilience for such a time as this. After he finished his remarks, I was tempted to get up here and say, let the church say amen because he's brought a word on today. We are standing in solidarity with each and every one of you during this incredibly fragile time i wanted to make sure across the street to make it clear that the attack on you the attack on

the civil service is unacceptable unconscionable un-american and we are going to stand with you until each and every one of those unlawful executive orders are fully and completely reversed. Buried in the ground, never to rise again. Now, I stand here with all of you having grown up, been born in Brooklyn Hospital, raised in a working class neighborhood in central Brooklyn, grew up in a union household. Both my parents, public employees throughout their entire lives. My mom, 45 years working for them.

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 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 man.

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. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love

that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more.

Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. The city of New York, my father, 30 years, working as a substance abuse counselor for the state of New York. And so I stand here today not just as a member of Congress, but as a member of your family. The family of public employees who serve this country well.

You should be respected, not rejected. You should be lifted up, not torn down. You should be embraced, not discarded. And we will stand with you until you get the dignity and respect that you deserve. And we're going to do everything that we need to do. It's an all hands on deck effort. We're going to fight on your behalf in the Congress. We're fighting on your behalf in the courts. And we're going to make sure we do what we need to do in the community. Because they want us to step back. We're here to push back.

We're here to push back. We're here to push back on your behalf. Thankful for your dignity. Thankful for your determination. Thankful for all that you do for the children of America, the families of America, the seniors of America, the Social Security recipients of America, the Medicare recipients of America, the veterans of America, and so many others. We will not abandon you in your hour of need because we are you and you are us, the American people. And so let me just end by saying even though we've got these out of control, unelected billionaires trying to turn back the clock, we're not going back. We're going to keep moving forward.

We're not going to let them unwind the progress that you and others have fought to accomplish. Hard work, civil rights, labor rights, organizing, all the progress that has been made, we're not going to let them turn back the clock. I know things are turbulent at this moment. I'm reminded of the aftermath of the Montgomery bus boycott. In those early days, began in December of 1955, situations seemed hopeless in the heart of the Jim Crow. Didn't have an army.

Didn't have the law enforcement establishment behind him. KKK was very active. Situations seemed hopeless. Yes, sir. Dr. King, just a few months after the start of that Montgomery bus boycott, he actually spoke to a group of people not unlike those who are gathered here today. All right, sir. And he said, notwithstanding the odds being against us that we've got to at

all times press on and keep pressing he said if you if you can't fly run if you can't run walk if you can't walk crawl but at all times press press on. And so I just stopped by to let you know that we're going to press on. Press on for you. Press on for the union. Press on for everyday Americans. Press on for civil service. Press on for collective bargaining. Press on for our democracy.

Press on. Press on. Now, there are many others who believe that not as enough is happening from Democrats. This is a clip where Representative Jeffries was talking about the power that Democrats have when it comes to this budget battle that is facing Congress. Listen to this. I'm trying to figure out what leverage we actually have. What leverage do we have to control the House, the Senate and the presidency? It's their government. What leverage do we have? So who would ever want to interesting here is This tweet here was posted by Jill Stein she posed why we need a real opposition party. And you think that's you?

Um, and if you want to understand how nonsensical they are, so this is Jason call Jason call was her campaign manager. This is what this idiot posted on Twitter. Yes. Of course, Trump can overcome. We would never overcome the moral stain of reelecting genocide. It would have undercut any moral authority. It would have metastasized. As god awful as Trump is, it was the better outcome now let's organize to bury fascism again but this time for real and that means ending capitalism I've seen some really stupid comments but that probably was the dumbest today. And let me let me real clear, y'all. Jill Stein ain't done a damn thing. Jill Stein pops up every four years, runs for president.

Whole goal is to take votes away from Democrats because it ain't like she taking any votes away from Republicans. This is what they do. And I don't care. You can have people out there all rolling. I think you're wrong. I mean, we don't care. I'm being real clear. I don't believe for a second that the Green Party can organize anything of substance. You got to be out your damn mind to say, well, yeah, let's sit here. We can organize. We can fight Trump through mutual...

This is a stupidity that we have out here, Larry, that makes no sense to me. Yeah, you're right. Jill Stein pops up every couple of years, and I have no idea what she's doing in between that. I don't know if she's hanging out in Russia or what she's doing. But it's certainly not fighting for the people. And listen, Roland, you know, there's a lot of conversation about what do we do now in this moment.

And as I said earlier, you have to be willing to use specific political, economic, and social power, capital. You have to be willing to fight this block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood. And for those individuals who are not committed to doing that, you've got to step aside. First of all, any fight has to be centered within the Black community. Specifically, in my opinion, has to be led by Black black community specifically in my opinion has to be led by black women who've always consistently done the work have been the backbone of democratic party

so with joe stein her you know her you know her you know former staffer you know whatever they're suggesting talking about they're not centered within black within blackness right they also don't have to worry about these policies that we're talking about, whether we talk about a tax on NIH and cancer research, or we talk about Medicare, Medicaid, et cetera, some of these particular specific social programs I just mentioned, the country would be littered with the lives of the bodies of black folks who did not get the services they deserve because people didn't take everything seriously. So we need to move on. So I don't listen to nutcases like this, Randy, because they're not serious. And here we are facing a serious and real threat. The actions these people are taking are absolutely insane when you see what what they're doing. In fact, today, this idiot Elon Musk goes to the Oval Office with this other idiot. And here was him being questioned about spreading the lie that Trump spread about $50 million of USAID money going to Gaza for condoms. Listen to this.

You said on X that an example of the fraud that you have cited was $50 million of condoms were sent to Gaza. But after fact-check this, apparently Gaza in Mozambique, and the program was to protect them against HIV. So can you correct the statements that it wasn't sent to Hamas, actually? It was sent to Mozambique, which makes sense why condoms were sent there. And how can we make sure that all the statements that you said were uh correct so we can trust what you say well first of all uh some of the things that I say will be incorrect need to be corrected i'm not going to bet a

thousand dude you're not even batting 200 right and he knows he's reckless with his mouth he knows that what he's saying is not correct but again it's all about propaganda. I'm sitting there and there's this man who is in the Oval Office that we did not elect. That is not a U.S. citizen with his kid on his back. I wouldn't have a kid on my back right now to be on the show because I take it seriously what I'm doing right now. And it's because he sees himself as this leader and has no accountability. And he's just throwing out this information as if it's valid and facts. And the reason why he does it is because it has worked in the past. Because we are dealing, because their base are people who watch Fox News and just hear snapshots and then repeat it and pass it around.

They don't check to see if it's correct or not. They just run with it. And so you know that there are millions right now of Americans who probably saw and said, well, you know, they were just out there just giving condoms to Gaza. That's what the problem is. They're just wasting money. And all of this makes sense because they go unchecked which is what they want just like we were talking about in the last story they don't want to give the press any power they don't want to be checked and and and musk is running this as it's a private corporation like like uh when he took over twitter just just no accountability i'm gonna fire who i wanna fire say what i wanna say and nobody can say anything about it. And then with him, you have

people like Stein, who has never even been on a school board. This woman has never even run a bake sale. And yet we give her just any space. We shouldn't even pay any attention to her. Like again, like you say, she pops up every four years. She's like the quarterly groundhog that just just shows up every now and then. So I am I am ashamed, quite frankly, of the people that we are giving power and space and time and attention to in this country as we sit here and are just being taken over by ludicrous. I'm sitting here. This was posted a few minutes ago by someone. Jennifer Hansler posted this

on Twitter. Jennifer Hansler covers the State Department for CNN. She said in this tweet, the USAID Inspector General was fired on Tuesday, a day after his office released a report critical of the impact of the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle USAID, a source familiar told CNN. See, here's the whole thing here, Mustafa.

And that is Speaker Mike Johnson stands there and he complained, oh, my God, we're not getting this information. Maybe you would have it if Donald Trump hadn't fired all of the 17 or 18 or even more inspector generals who that's what they do. This is all strategy. And I hope folks will finally, if we say enough times, maybe people actually pay attention to it. The inspector generals, they do a few things. One is they do investigations and audits. So when the speaker of the house says there's nobody who's out there doing it so we can get the information, he's incorrect. And I'm amazed that the speaker of the house would not know that that's what the inspector generals at agencies and departments do. They also promote efficiency and effectiveness. So if you say that the reason that you have these DOGE folks coming in is

because you want to have more effectiveness and efficiency with federal dollars and actions and programs, you already have those individuals. So why didn't you better strengthen them and give them the additional resources they might need to get you the information that could help you to do a better job on Capitol Hill. You know, it's so, and we have to dive deeper, right? I appreciate and I learn each time I'm on the show with Larry and Randy and all the information that they drop. But we also got to take a look at, you know, when you're looking at USAID, right? folks can put out this false information and disinformation. These dollars that are going are actually helping to save people's lives. And when we're not really laser focused on all the good that happens, there's always going

to be some waste somewhere if you look hard enough. And yes, that should be addressed. But you are literally taking away lifelines to folks in other countries and, of course, the nonprofits who work here who support them, along with all of the sets of investments that also from the other programs make it back to our country. So we got to be real careful that folks just, you know, look at the bumper stickers and don't actually look deeper into how we are shortening people's lives, how we are taking children's futures away, and how we are actually stripping our own humanity by allowing these types of things to happen. Well, here's a perfect example to that.

I'm looking for this here. You've got Arkansas Senator, nut nutcase right-wing bigot white nationalist Tom Cotton so Tom Cotton put out a post where he was condemning USAID. Now, mind you, he said nothing about USAID for years. But so this is a great tweet. Y'all going to love this here. Let me pull it up right here, y'all. He goes, strange. Someone named Senator Tom Cotton released an 84 page report four years ago that argued USAID would be useful and play an important role in countering Chinese influence abroad.

If you see that guy, you should ask him about this because this was his tweet usaid was a vanguard of the global left that's why the media and democrats are melting down over saving money that was being sent overseas by u.s taxpayers you gotta be pretty stupid you gotta be pretty stupid to know that you did a report arguing how great it was. And now all of a sudden, oh, it sucks. It was bad. It's awful. Y'all, that's what we're dealing with here. These people are mass hypocrites. You cannot take them seriously. Unfortunately, they have the power. And again, for the folks who voted for them and the folks who sat on their asses and didn't vote. You got exactly what you wanted. You got exactly what you wanted.

I'm going to take a quick break. And when I come back, I'm going to show you how these white nationalists are so angry about DEI. They literally, the U.S. Army has said, yeah, we're not going to keep recruiting at that major engineering conference for black engineers. So we're just going to bypass that. Okay. Good luck in your Army recruitment. We're black engineers. So we're just going to bypass that. Okay. Good luck in your army recruitment. Folks, don't forget, support the work that we do here at Rolling Mark Unfiltered at the Black Star Network. We need 20,000 of our fans contributing on average, 50 bucks each.

It comes out to $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. The work that we do here, trust me, ain't nobody else in black-owned media is doing. You can do a roll call. Byron Allen's not doing it with the Griot, not Ebony, not Black Enterprise, not Ebony, not Blavity. Nobody is doing what we do every single day with this show two hours a day, plus the other shows on the Black Star Network, it ain't happening. So when you support us, you're supporting news and information that speaks from our perspective, covering the issues that we care about. We've got some new shows coming online,

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check and money order, PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 200370196. PayPal is rmartinunfiltered. Venmo is rmunfiltered. Zale, rolling at rollinsmartin.com. Rolling at rollingmartinUnfiltered.com. We'll be right back. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence.

Blood and soil, you will not be white. 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 rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. Here'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. 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. 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 is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.

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

your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend.

At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. It's 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.

What's up, y'all? Look, Fanbase is more than a platform. It's a movement to empower creators, offering a unique opportunity for everyday people to invest in Black-owned tech, infrastructure, and help shape the future of social media. Investing in technology is essential for creating long-term wealth and influence in the digital age.

The Black community must not only consume tech, we must own it. Discover how equity crowdfunding can serve as a powerful tool for funding Black businesses, allowing entrepreneurs to raise capital directly through their community, through the jobs ad now that Roland Martin is willing to give me the blueprint hey Saras I need to go to Tyler Perry and get another blueprint because I need some green money the only way I can do what I'm doing I need to make some money so you'll see me working with Roland matter of fact it's the Roland Martin and Sheryl Underwood show well should it be the Sheryl Underwood show and the Roland Martin show? Well, whatever show it's gonna be, it's gonna be good. On Monday, the twice impeached criminally convicted felon in chief Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing 25 23 percent of all steel used in the U.S. was imported with Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Vietnam as the largest suppliers. Mike Taylor is the managing managing member of Cross Lane Construction. And so he'll is here to explain to us how these tariffs will impact not only small businesses, but also you, the consumer.

Mike, glad to have you here. So first of all, Mike, what is Crosslane Construction? I'm a home builder in Maryland. I'm located roughly about 40 minutes south of Washington, D.C. So I serve most of the counties in Maryland, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Charles County, and St. Mary's County. So I've built single family homes. What do you guys build? Single family homes. Okay. And right now we're working on two deals, one 52-lot community and another 14-lot community.

And this tariff, again, if you look at the construction, just starting right off the bat, the I-beams that we use on the steel, roughly each house, you're going to put anywhere from three to six thousand dollars worth of steel in that house. So that will impact the the the of course, the sales price if you have to carry that tariff over. But there's more than just steel. It's the columns, the nails, the fasteners, the rebar. So it really will add up. And you'll probably add no less than another close to maybe twenty thousand dollars on top of the just the raw materials. So, again, for the people in the back who don't get it, by imposing this tariff that is going to add some $20,000, what do you say to somebody who says, well, I don't understand, Mike, why aren't you using steel made in the United States? Once again, it's more than just steel made in the United States. It's distribution.

And then the steel in the United States, again, it boils down to cost. So the steel that's made in the United States is higher priced what they perceive as the ground, level the playing field, so to speak. However, you're pushing again with the tariffs, you're really not going to level the playing field because everybody that's doing steel in the United States, they're still higher even with the tariffs. So, so, so,

so, so, so, so again, if 23% of all steel used in the U.S. was imported, what

you're saying is the other 67%, if folks used American-made steel, it's going to jack up prices. Will it jack up prices even more so than these tariffs are going to impact? I think it will. I really do. And again, when you look at it, if that there, again, that's just going to be a pass along and pass through. And what I'm afraid of is that the American companies, because now they really don't have any competition, that they will take advantage of that fact instead of giving a better pricing. That's what I've seen. If you don't have the competition, the price is a free fall. It's whatever they want to do.

Questions for my panel? Mustafa, you first. Well, thank you for being here with us. I'm always interested and we hear in the news all the time, inflation, inflation, inflation. We've got to get our arms around it. How will these tariffs impact inflation, especially in the world that you operate in? Again, it's to be seen, but the tariffs, in my opinion, will increase. And we will pass that that cost along to the consumer. It's not just a I'm going to eat it because I'm a small builder. And, you know, you work on a margin.

But if I get the increase, I have no other choice except to pass it on. And if you pass it on, and you know this greater Washington area, the average house price is brand new. It's close to $500,000 plus. So now you're going to push the envelope even further. So it will increase inflation. And I guess all the economists know that. I mean, it's it's it's you know, it's it's simple math. If I get the increase, I can't eat it. I have to increase my price. Randy, thank you so much for giving us some information about what's happening.

We talk about how this affects housing when people are buying houses but also will it affect when people are trying to rent so if buildings are more expensive to build wouldn't that be passed on to even renters yes it will it will it's a domino effect it it will go right along the entire line of every construction that we that we're doing in the united states. And it's more than just steel. We use, I mean, if you just look at it, I know steel is what was mentioned. But again, as I said, when you look at the fasteners, the nails, and all the other components,

it really will add up uh to to again i'm just saying a rough number about 20 000 added onto each house uh larry yeah um thank you for taking time to talk about this important issue can you discuss you know you're you're a black owned builder can you talk about the impact it could possibly have on, you know, businesses of your size and smaller than a Black-owned? And when you combine these tariffs in terms of them trying to continue to survive in this economy? It makes it tough. And the impact of what we're just coming out, I tell you, just coming out from COVID, that had a great impact on my business. And so now I'm back in the swing and I am concerned that with these tariffs coming along, not just on steel, but lumber and some of these other things where I'll have to position myself with, you know, the profit margin and whether I can continue to,

you know, be viable in terms of profitability at the level that I am right now and be competitive because the bigger companies, they may have a better opportunity to, you know, as I say, eat a little bit of the margins, whereas a small builder, mid-sized builder is very challenging for me to do that. So, yeah, it will impact everything. All right, then. Well, Mike, we'll see how long this goes. But, again, we use the hashtag. We try to tell you.

We try to tell these people what's going to happen. We try to teach them that, hey, we will play around. This is going to happen in folk. These folks in this country chose to go with Donald Trump. And now they're having to deal with the consequences. Now, my question, what. What is the answer? Is there an answer? Well, yeah, I mean, yeah, there is an answer. I mean, here's the reality. First of all, you can't do anything about the Oval Office until 2028. That's first and foremost. So there's executive power.

But there but if there is if you've got the midterm elections in 2026, which that look republicans only have a three-seat majority in the house so the house can be flipped uh the senate is going to be a hell of a lot harder because it's about nine seats up a lot of them are in red states and so it's gonna be very difficult uh for democrats uh to flip the senate um but, that's that's what you have there. What you have, you have local elections in 2025. You got Google races in Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, other places. And you've got, of course, Democrats are trying to hold the Virginia House and the Virginia Senate this year as well. And so that's really how we have to actually

approach this. And I think what also has to happen is you've got to have business owners like yourself who also utilize social media telling people, here are the real effects of these decisions. And so to those of you who want to buy, do understand it's going to cost you more money. And you should be telling that idiot in the Oval Office that you're costing Americans. So politically, that's really what it looks like. And our goal, what I have told our folks is, listen, we're not focused on process in D.C. We're focused on the impact on regular and ordinary people by the actions of this utterly ridiculous administration. So that's that's really the lay of the land. OK, well, thank you, Mike. I appreciate you joining us. Thanks a lot. You're welcome. Folks, we told you what happens when you put crazy people in charge of the government. And we have seen how

this white nationalist administration has been attacking DEI. Well, let me tell you a decision that they made, which you probably are like, are y'all really and truly that dumb? Yeah, they are. Okay. So here's first. The convicted felon in chief has made it easier for corporate corruption to take place. He signed an executive order suspending enforcement of a landmark anti-corruption law that has governed corporate conduct for nearly 50 years. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, signed by President Jimmy Carter, prohibits U.S. companies from bribing foreign officials to win or retain business.

It has been central to some of the Justice Department's biggest corporate crime cases. Donald Trump argues the law harms American businesses, claiming robbery is a, quote, a routine part of doing business internationally. The White House described enforcement of the law as

quote, overexpansive and an obstacle to U.S. economic growth, directing the Attorney General Pam Bondi to halt prosecutions and review past cases. This is what happens when you put the thugs in charge and have the power. Now,

another diversity department bites the dust this time at PBS. The network confirmed it has shuttered its diversity, equity, and inclusion office, citing compliance with an executive order from Trump. PBS announced that staff members from the DEI office, led by Cecilia Loving, are leaving the organization. PBS, which receives partial government funding, claims it will still reflect all of America and remain a welcoming place for everyone. But the timing obviously raises questions.

The closure follows a wave of executive orders from Trump targeting initiatives across federal agencies and private companies alike. PBS is also facing scrutiny from the FCC led by Trump opponent right wing chair Brendan Carr, who's investigating whether PBS and NPR member stations broke the rules around financial sponsor disclosures. OK, we're not done. The 55th Department run by the grossly unqualified Pete Hexeth. They've made a decision that is baffling. It's truly baffling. They've decided that, you know what? Yeah, we're not going to recruit at these conferences that actually might get us more black engineers. Yep. Military.com reported this. They actually reported this action that was taken by Trump, by the Department of Defense, by saying that, yeah, you know know what we just think that this dei stuff makes sense now

mind you um this conference is one of the biggest conferences it is one where they well the u.s army has has played a major major role uh over the years and they have been able to recruit lots of talent but they're like yeah you know what we're just not gonna keep going to this conference pull this story up here Randy and so this is it right here and again this is just the army and other service branches it says until this week army recruiting command had a long-standing public partnership with the black engineer of the year awards or bay up an annual conference that draws students academics and professionals in science technology engineering and math also known as stem it takes

place in baltimore and one army recruiter said this is one of the most talent dense events we do our footprint there has always been significant we need the talent but because recruiting at this black event can run afoul they said in compliance with the Department of Defense and headquarters, Department of the Army guidance, U.S. Army Recruiting Command will not participate in the upcoming BAYA event. Navy, Air Force and Space Force also are pulling out the event, forbidding officials from attending in an official capacity or in uniform. Check this out. One existing Army general.

It's effing racist. For the Army now, it's black. It's blacks need not apply and it breaks my heart. Randy, here's what we're really dealing with. These people are saying we just want white folks. That's all we want. If you are black and Latino, you need not apply. I have tried to make it very clear to people that there is a direct assault. There is a war against Black people right now. They do not want us to participate fully in this so-called American dream. They are doing everything not just to block any opportunity we could have.

They try to use the excuse of DEI, which we all know is BS, and say that it's discriminatory. But really, it means they don't want Black people. When you go, when you talk about conferences that they're now not going to recruit from, these are the best of the best. These are not people who need, like, it's not that they're now not going to recruit from. These are the best of the best. These are not people who need, it's not that they're unqualified. It's not that they haven't done some of the things that all engineers do. These are some of the best of the best. And they're coming to meet with the military who needs them. They need qualified engineers, but they're saying, we don't even want to meet with you. We do not want to give you an opportunity.

What the current military member said that there was effing racist is 100% accurate. It is accurate. They don't want us there. They don't want us to apply. They don't want to give us the opportunity, regardless of our qualifications. And there's no way to make it sound any better than that. I can't, as much as I would like to gloss over it or present a pretty picture, it's nothing pretty about this ugliness that they're doing. It is an absolute assault against

Black people. They don't want to give us a chance, regardless of our qualifications. It's not about meritocracy. They don't care about how qualified we are or if we're the best candidate. They don't want to give us a chance, regardless of our qualifications. It's not about meritocracy. They don't care about how qualified we are or if we're the best candidate. They don't want to even give us a chance to be a candidate. No, they don't. And this is how they're operating, Larry. They're showing who they are. And listen, this is make America great again. Now, make America workforce white again. I mean, this is among several instances we'll see in the next several years of, you know, and listen, black folks always have been taught we have to be two to three times better than everyone else. So our qualifications are always impeccable. So when you add that onto an opportunity to recruit individuals who are tremendously skilled, but also bring a different worldview to the

prospect of the U.S. military, and so you're denying yourself the ability to put together a workforce, particularly from a military standpoint, that allows the United States to maintain its military superiority, so to speak, if you care about the U.S. military in terms of what it does overseas. So you're cutting off your nose to spite your face. And these individuals will find jobs in corporate America, et cetera, and grow into businesses very successful. But this is an opportunity for the U.S. military, once again, not only in terms of issues relating to someone who has a similar lived experience, but also individuals who we already know are highly qualified, who already have a credential, and they're denying themselves the opportunity.

Yeah, and the thing here, the story says right there on military.com, Mustafa, that they compete heavily against Silicon Valley with these bright minds. So this is what I say to all Black people listening. F the military. Black folks, say, tell them them what you know what whatever army navy air force marines space force coast guard we we coming your way we're coming to you and let me tell you something right now if black if Black recruitment drops off a cliff, the military has a problem. It's that part right there. I mean, you know, it's amazing how bigotry and racism actually ends up hurting its own self and thinks it's going to hurt other people.

You know, when we look at military recruiting, you know, my family has been a part of the military for generations upon generations. You know, we know that the white folks haven't been, actually, their numbers continue to decline. Let me say it that way. I'll stay with the facts. And we know that, you know, as the general shared with us, he called out what it was, but he also understands how incredibly hard it is to make, to compete for talent. So if you want to have a 21st century military, then that means that you've got to have the best of the best. This was one event that could help you to be able to achieve that. When you don't have the strongest military as possible, then you weaken our country and you make us more vulnerable. So again, that racism and bigotry, it actually comes back and bites the country

because what it does is it just makes us not have all the pieces that we actually need. And corporate America will go out and pay folks and get the best of the best because each of those businesses and corporations have to actually compete on an international level. And if they aren't willing to do it, other countries most definitely will. So when you do these types of actions, China is watching, Russia is watching, and they understand that you are not bringing your best people into the mix. And that's something that I'm sure that they're not upset about. Oh, absolutely. So I'm just laughing at these people. I'm just laughing at this. There's their their stupidity. And you know whates had to check this one dude about government spending. Ah, delicious retort. I'll have it next on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network.

Coming soon to the Blackstar Network. Well, y'all, when you're on that stage and you're seeing two and three, four generations in the audience, that's got to speak to you about the power of what y'all have become. Oh, most definitely. I think we were doing our show before our break. And remember, I was watching this kid. I could not take my eyes off him because he was about nine or so. He was sitting in the front row with his parents.

Over on the right hand side, yes, yes, yes, yes. I was amazed that this kid knew everything. And he was, I was like tripping to see how many songs this kid actually knew. And he knew them all. And he knew them all. And he knew them all. We had to go over there and bring him on stage and take a picture with him, you know, at the end of the show and stuff. Because it was just that amazing.

It was like, this is crazy. You know, the music travels everywhere. You know, like what Phillip was saying, seeing this young kid. Then you see, hear our songs on commercials, cold commercials. Then you have the younger ones that see and hear our music and animation. Hello, I'm Isaac Hayes III, founder and CEO of Fanbase. And right now we're accepting investors in our $17 million round to revolutionize the future of social media. Today, for just $399, you can own 60 shares of stock in Fanbase at $6.65 a share.

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Don't wait until it's too late. Invest now. Invest for yourself and your future. Go to startengine.com slash fanbase and own the future of social media. How you doing? My name is Mark Curry. And you're watching Roland Martin. Unfiltered, deep into it like pasteurized milk. Without the 2%, we getting deep.

You want to turn that shit off we're doing an interview motherfucker All right, folks. Today's black and missing um the information here uh is uh kendall antonio ezell left his pleasant grove atlanta home on january 21st 2024. the 17 year old is five feet nine inches tall weighs 175 pounds with black hair and brown eyes he was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt black and white white checkered pants, and black and white Jordan sneakers. Anyone with information regarding Kendall Antonio Ezell should call the Pleasant Grove Alabama Police Department at 205-744-1735.

205-744-1735. All right, folks. There's always an opportunity for you to see the difference between really stupid members of Congress and smart members of Congress. We're going to deal with stupid first. Representative Luna out of Florida is a lunatic. And so she was speaking to the press about the release of these JFK assassination papers. This idiot, y'all, literally said this. What sort of witnesses will you expect to have at your hearings? And I used the first ones in

March. That'd be department heads, former employees of various agencies. Would you like to jump in? Yeah, I was going to say, based on what we're actually looking to do with the JFK investigation, I'm looking to actually bring in some of the attending physicians at the initial assassination, and then also people that had been on the various commissions looking into, like the Warren Commission looking into the initial assassinations. There's been conflicting evidence, and I think that even the FBI at the time reported some anomalies in the initial autopsy at Bethesda, Maryland. All of those, though, seem to have. 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. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

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

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

It makes it real. Listen to 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. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget

yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Been rinsed and repeated in the media to push a certain narrative that we don't... There's a slight problem

these are the members of the warren commission they're all dead this is the community note that's up. Y'all, Earl Warren, the Chief Justice, died in 1974. Senator Richard J. Russell, Jr., he died in 1991. Hale Boggs, former Congressman in 1972 in an airplane crash. Former President Gerald Ford, 2006. Allen Dulles, 1969. John J. McCloy, 1989. Do y'all understand the level of stupidity

that is on the Republican side? I don't think y'all... They all are stupid. And she said, yeah, we are. We're going to call the witnesses who were on the Warren Commission who I can't. I can't. Let me show you a smart member of Congress at a town hall meeting in Connecticut, college woman Johanna Hughes, former teacher of the year, Johanna Hayes, former teacher of the year, was asked a question by a MAGA fool. making a fool of himself and then her in her meticulous way showing him how really dumb he is roll it there are a lot of compelling stories in here today and that's that's good to hear at the same time leadership means making choices. The 56 signatories to the Declaration of Independence pledge their lives, their sacred honor, and their fortunes

for an idea and a constitution of limited actions and things of that sort. I would suggest to anybody here that wants to have an argument about this, that the government has become too large. We've heard people talking about this, that, and whatever else, and not being able to get answers back from your office or anybody else's offices and that may very well be from my perspective because the government has tried to take on too many things my question to you very simply today as a congress lady you have to make choices you can't say everybody in here has a good idea to enact that or put a bill through for that you need to make choices congresswoman hayes what are you going to do to try to reduce the cost of governance i'm open to tight like i said at the very beginning tightening our belts seeing where

we have waste and fraud programs that we can streamline things that we can modernize people need to understand what that means though can i Can I also suggest to you that we are here today partly because you didn't make choices in the prior administration where people who didn't go to college were being asked to pay off the loans of those that did go to college. What was your voice? Everyone. You talked about the Constitution, you talked about illegality and things of that sort. And to my understanding, the forgiveness of student loans was not legal. So were you making choices about that?

And again, I'm talking to you as a taxpayer. Yes, absolutely. I'm up to here on taxes for the federal government. Don't do that. I'm up to here on the federal government taxes and on the state taxes. And I'm simply asking you as a congressperson, what are you doing to reduce the cost of government? Thank you again. Like I just said, all of the things, however, I'm just going to inject this and I know I

just said we only have a little bit of time, but I wasn't a homeowner when the federal government failed out the mortgage industry. I didn't own any stocks when the federal government failed out the mortgage industry. I didn't own any stocks when the federal government failed out the banking industry. I didn't own a car when the federal government failed out the auto industry. And the fact that our hard line is a 19-year-old who wants to go to college and turn around poverty in their families and change the trajectory for their children, we have a problem there. The federal government took on the responsibility of managing and overseeing the student loan program

to make a profit. That's what they did. So you had people who, long before Obama, but even if it was, okay I'll give that to you, even if it was Obama, we have a responsibility. It's a relay. We go from one administration to the other. This idea that, oh, this was Obama's fault,

because what was spent in the student loan forgiveness program doesn't even come close to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, where 93% of the benefits went to the top 1% of the so okay so no because it is very interesting that that is always the program that people bring up. When a storm hits and FEMA comes in, American taxpayer dollars are sent to help Americans. Where were you, Congressman Hayes? You said you came back from Chicago.

I looked at Southwest Airlines that day. There were four non-slops who had flights from Midway to Bradbury. No, no, no, let it finish! You said you could not get a flight. Sir, if you remember, no, we'll address this. Because if we're having a storm that you're describing, I don't care what the internet says, if you've been at an airport or been on a plane, a plane is not flying into a storm. A plane is not flying into a storm. That's just basic. You know what? I also want to say something else about that. Because I was in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention when a storm hit our state unexpectedly. I was with the

governor, the lieutenant governor, every constitutional, both senators, and every member of Congress. And the only person that anybody called out was me. The entire Connecticut delegation was there when we got the alert that a storm was going to hit Connecticut. I would have never gotten on a plane had I known the people in my district were going to be hurt. And I immediately

went to work to get a declaration and money and relief back to this district to help the people that were hurt. And don't say that in 24 hours. And don't say it's because I was on the ballot. Chris Murphy was on the ballot too, and I didn't hear a bull. So these unfair standards and purity tests

and different levels of accountability for different people, I have no problem standing in front of the people that I represent telling you why I voted the way I did, defending a position that I have, giving you my time, energy, and attention because you deserve it and the people elected me for that. I will never hide from my constituents or from a position that I took on anything. That's how you do it. And let's stay in Connecticut. Senator Chris Murphy

had a town hall, about 800 people people and explained to them why it's important to confront MAGA about what they really mean when they say DEI watch this I think the thing that we can do is just call it out every single time for what it is it is white male supremacy. And you see how nice they be on saying what it is. And they aren't even trying to hide what it is. They aren't even trying to hide what it is. They aren't even trying to hide what it is. Within hours of that plane crash, they basically came out and said, the reason that this country isn't safe is because we have women and people of color

working in airports and they're not even trying to hide what they're doing here. At West Point, they shut down all the ethnic clubs except for the white European ethnic clubs. They're not trying to hide what they're doing. So don't let them get away with this. Call it out for what it is because people do not support that. They're not down with the White House's supremacy, right? They're not on board for an all-out attack on the idea that the only people who can get jobs in our government are men of one race. It's just not where the bulk of this country is. So don't let them get away with what they are selling. Call it out for what it is.

That's how you do it. That's how it should be done. And I would hope that Democrats do more of that, Larry, because they need to be far more aggressive at countering these idiots. Roland, I talked earlier about meeting force with force and particularly talk about communication strategy with a lot of Democrats clearly didn't have, you know, as things played out a few weeks ago in november and we live in a time of a lot of misinformation so first of all democrats have to be consistent this dei issue for black was black folks we already know what's going on here but you have to have a consistent message not just for folks who look like us and the senator was right in his response and really detailing about what's really going on but we need all Democrats to spell out

just the way he did, forcefully. Because the Democratic Party cannot get anywhere without Black folks. And we're continuously under attack in terms of our ability to work in a corporation or US military, or get a faculty job. If we're under attack, don't expect us to turn around and support you.

So if you want the Black vote, like the Senator highlighted, you have to make sure you go out of your way to talk about what's really going on. Because Black folks are always, we're always gonna vote in what's in our best interest. Some of our cousins need to do a better job and figure out what's best for America and what it means to be a democracy. Randy? Well, you know, people were

very fine with voting, you know, to get rid of DEI because they thought it was just about Black people. One thing I got to give MAGA credit for is that they're excellent at marketing and they make DEI sound like a Black thing. The reason why now they are freaking out is that they're excellent at marketing and they make DEI sound like a black thing. The reason why now they are freaking out is that they're realizing when you say DEI, that means everybody but heterosexual white men. And so they're reeling because as you see, women are being let go. When they talk about DEI, even administrators being let go. Understand that 73% of DEI employees were white people. So they're shocked at that. As you see all these rollbacks that are happening, it's affecting people that people did not think about. But like I said, the bad thing about it is they were fine with it when it was black people. Another thing they've done a good job

at is they just call it DEI. So it sounds almost, it has turned to something bad but you have to make people spell out, what is it, why are you against diversity? What is it that's bad about it? Why are you against equity? Why are you against inclusion? Like actually use the words

so people have to really confront what they're against. Because it's really hard to have a valid argument against diversity, equity, and inclusion. But when you just make an acronym that people are distant from, it's easy to fight against it. So it's the marketing campaign that MAGA has done well that we also need to be strategic about and speak truth to it and make them call it for what it really is. Yeah, but also what you have to do, Mustafa, is you also got to flip it and you got to say, hey, what are you doing to root out the hiring of mediocre white people?

I mean, that's true too, right? So if you want to talk about who's the best candidate, we already know that we compete at a very high level, that, you know, we're given the opportunity that we excel and that we bring our greatness into every space that we are. So we also understand that that scares people because folks who have been able to just sort of skate by can no longer do that when the field is actually level. But people are waking up. I mean, I know that we wish that folks had woken up a little bit earlier, but I was walking down the street the other day and people started saying, you have power unless you give it away. Something that I continue to share with folks all across the country when we're on the show. And people are really starting to understand that, yeah, they do have power and they're going

to sort of, you know, make sure that they are organizing, they're making sure that they are educating. And now we just have to make sure that that power is focused on pulling the levers that are necessary and making the changes that will finally help us to become this country that we say that we want to see uh we're going to close out with this uh i love how these republicans are now so mad and upset especially the catholics because the pope has weighed in um the pope sent a letter to the u.s conference of bishopsishops saying that, I'm watching what's happening in America, and I ain't happy with this stuff. Now, he started talking about what's taking place in dealing with Israel, what's been happening there, and of course, folks with Gaza. And then he says this,

he says in his letter, likewise, Jesus Christ, loving everyone with a universal love, educates us in the permanent recognition of the dignity of every human being without exception. In fact, when we speak of infinite and transcendent dignity, we wish to emphasize that the most decisive value possessed of a human person surpasses and sustains every other juridical consideration that can be made to regulate life in society. Thus, all the Christian faithful and people of goodwill are called upon to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person. 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. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne.

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

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

We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations. The rightly formed conscious cannot fail to make a critical

judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the legal status of some migrants with criminality. At the same time, one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who've committed violent or serious crimes while in the environment damages the dignity of many, many women and of entire families and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness. Now all they upset Tom Holman, the Trump nutcase.

He's like the Pope should focus on the Catholic church. See, I love Mustafa how they don't like being called out by the Pope. They love embracing things of Catholicism that they like. So the Republican Party is like going to Golden Corral.

I'll take some of that, some of that. Yeah, I want none of that. This is who they are. This is how trifling they are. This is what they represent and so and all of these you don't hear where's pastor paula white where's franklin graham where's all of these so-called evangelicals these christians these so-called bible loving people r Ralph Reed, they're frauds. Tony Perkins, fraud. They are Christian frauds and hypocrites, Mustafa. Well, you know, a lot of people want to practice a la carte Christianity,

you know, where you just use the pieces that you want. You know, it does such a disservice, you know, if you go back and you really understand if you are a follower of Jesus, you know, what he stood for, what the expectations were, and then you continue to not do that, but yet want to call yourself a person of faith. You know, it's just one of those things that we find now in this country that has become acceptable. So we have a lot of work to do to really get into spirituality and making sure that we are uplifting each other, that we are loving each other and that we're looking out for each other. That is whether you are Muslim or you're Christian

or you're Jewish or Buddhist or Sikh or a number of these different major religions that are out there, these are the foundational elements of looking out for each other, loving each other, holding each other up and holding ourselves accountable to continue to get better. And you don't see those characteristics in many of the folks who say that they love God. Randy, this is the second part of the letter. This is not a minor issue. An authentic rule of law is verified

precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized. The true common good is promoted when society and government with creativity and strict respect for the rights of all as high as I have affirmed on numerous occasions, welcomes, protects, promotes, and integrates the most fragile, unprotected, and vulnerable. This does not impede the development of a policy that regulates orderly and legal migration. However, this development cannot come about through the privilege of some and the sacrifice of others. What is built on the basis of force and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being begins badly and will end badly. Boy, they can't stand moral clarity, can they? They can't. And those are

some powerful words. And the words, unfortunately, go against everything that MAGA is about. Just the use of the word all, showing concern for all, is not what MAGA is about. It's not what white supremacy is about. It's about few white men, heterosexual white men having power. And so it does go against their doctrine. And we have to understand that what they're doing right now is looking at Trump as essentially a deity, the way they act, the way they worship him, the way they follow his every command, regardless of how wrong it is, regardless of how it goes against anybody's decents, morals, regardless of your religion, just shows that, you know, it's a true, they have their own religion in their minds. And so, you know, I am glad that everyone is speaking to have some grace in this administration, but it does not seem

to do anything to soften them. It only seems to anger them. If you are not on their team, they will not listen to you. And even the people within his religion, even the people who are supposed to be his spiritual guides are really just following and saying whatever he wants him to say and that he is right. And again, they seem to look at him as God. I mean, that, that, you know, there's also be no other gods before me. They're worshiping this human form and putting him above everything that I know they have to know better. Larry, uh, he says, I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic church and all men and women of goodwill not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and

refugee brothers and sisters with charity and clarity we are all called to live in solidarity and fraternity to build bridges that bring us ever closer together to avoid walls of it you know me and to learn to give our lives as Jesus Christ gave he is for the salvation of all. But let's just be clear. These people do not care about the teachings of Jesus Christ. They will align with the rich before they do a damn thing about the poor. So I won't pretend to be a religious scholar. That's not my area of expertise, but I spent some time in a black church growing up. And so the question I would ask to these folks is what would you do to jesus

and call a cop call the cops on them they'll say hey hey can y'all come by there's some long-haired road wearing dude who looks weird whose skin is dark thin outside my door i think he a criminal having deported we don't have our skin sins forgiven right so and so if that's it the question is having deported then you really need to really think about what you what tenets what do you really believe as it relates to religion and so you know but it's not really about religion and we know that right so there's a center in in racism and so and also like you know this is convenient you know what you want to believe in when you want to believe in it but once again what would you do what would you do to jesus and then if you would you know kick him out then you need to really think about what your morals and values are they don't care about jesus their actions show that mustafa randy larry i appreciate y'all being on today's show thank you so very much all right

folks first of all uh youtube folks do me a favor hit the damn like button i mean i don't understand with several thousand of y'all on there and it ain't that hard to hit the like button it's not by the time i get off we should be wait we should be at 3,000 3,500 okay so hit the damn button all right y'all support the work that we do and join our bring the funk fan club your dollars are critically important for us to do that work uh to go we're asking 20,000 people on average to give 50 bucks each as four hours and 19 cents a month 13 cents a day to support our work You can you want to use cash app? What you do is use the stripe QR code to use cash app. It's right there That's QR code right there You can also of course of your listening go to black star network comm to pull that QR code up

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rolandsmartin.com Roland at rolandmartinunfiltered Roland at RolandMartinFilter.com. Download the Black Star Network app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Be sure to get my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available bookstores nationwide. Get the audible version, which I read. Also, be sure to get our Roland Martin Unfiltered Black Star

Network merchandise. YouTube, hurry up. Y'all got 500 more likes to get to 3,000. Y'all slow. Let's get a move on it. Go to, of course, you can get our shirt. Hashtag, we tried to tell you, FAFO 2025. Don't blame me. I voted for the black hashtag. We tried to tell you F.A.F.O. 2025. Don't blame me. I voted for a black woman. The QR code is right there.

Also, go to Roland Martin dot creator dash spring dot com or go to Black Star Network dot com. And of course, we want you to download the app fan base. And of course, you're going to end. You want to invest, $8.7 million has been raised in the series a raise. And so we are halfway there to 17 million. If you want to invest, go to start engine.com forward slash fan base, start engine.com forward slash fan base folks. That is it. I appreciate all of you for watching today's show. Thank you so very much. Uh, we'll see you. supposed to be in the studio, but we got about three to six inches of snow. So hopefully the roads will be clear tomorrow. So I just had to do the show from the home studio, but it's all good. Everything worked out. And so hopefully we'll see y'all tomorrow from our Black Star Network studio in Washington, DC. That's it. And yes, I'm representing. I got this at the Axel F. premiere. So this is the Mumford Physical Ed Department. Eddie Murphy, of course, wore the sweatshirt in Beverly Hills Cop. So just rocking this. That's it, folks. I'll see you tomorrow.

Right here on Rolling Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. How folks Blackstar Network. Oh, no. I'm real revolutionary right now. How? Folks, Black Star Network is here. Hold no punches. A real revolutionary right now. Black power. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. I thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller.

I love y'all. 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 scape. It's time to be smart. Bring

your eyeballs home. You dig? Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-up way, you've got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad.

That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. 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 Lott. 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 biggest names in music and sports.

This kind of starts that 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 2 This is an iHeart Podcast.