Episodes
Thursday Sep 24, 2015
The Mark Riley Show – 09.23.15
Thursday Sep 24, 2015
Thursday Sep 24, 2015
- Rare pageantry as president greets Pope at White House. He spoke of immigrants and climate change, and conservatives are going crazy! My kind of Pope!
- Volkswagen test rigging follows a long auto industry pattern. How widespread is the cheating that VW is now being forced to admit? Boss is out, how many other heads will roll?
- Republican lawmaker says inmates key to defeating Corrine Brown. This story from Florida is fascinating because it shows how racism and gerrymandering can come together. BTW, why can’t inmates in the Sunshine State vote, if they’ve paid their debt to society and are keeping their noses clean?
- Starbucks falls short after pledging better labor practices. Think about this the next time you order a grande latte, or whatever you drink from this coffee emporium.
- Judge strikes down New York City’s ban on foam food containers. Judge says foam can be recycled. Really?
- What the summer of Desnudas taught us about tabloids, de Blasio, and who really runs New York. Village Voice piece lays out what a lot of New Yorkers of color have suspected for a long time. Our priorities are not those of tabs, or the wealthy folks they think read their papers.
- Bratton calls for political ownership of J’ouvert festival. Political ownership? What politicians? This could be the end for J’ouvert.
- Kin of cop shooting victims rage: De Blasio has time for James Blake, but not us. Do they have a point? Sounds a lot like some who criticized Obama for inviting Ahmed Mohamed to the White House.
- Carson blames pc culture for backlash over his anti-Muslim remarks. Who is Ben Carson to say certain religions can’t serve as president? It’s blatantly un-American.
- Michigan city to pay $40,000 in settlement after woman was ticketed for having HIV. How do cops like this get on police forces in the first place? Same is true of Seattle cop who falsely arrested black vet for having golf club, which he used as a crutch.
Wednesday Sep 16, 2015
The Mark Riley Show – 09.16.15
Wednesday Sep 16, 2015
Wednesday Sep 16, 2015
- James Blake, retired tennis pro, says police pushed him down; inquiry opened. This story just won’t go away. Interesting that Blake made no reference to possible racism being involved. There’s a lot more going on, however.
- Misidentified and tackled by the NY police, but no tennis star treatment. Multiply this story by many, and you have the dimensions of the fissure in police-community relations. This kid wasn’t James Blake. But hold on……..
- How Instagram tricked NYPD into James Blake arrest. Tricked? The NYPD? Never!!! Turns out the guy they were originally looking for is a respected businessman and sunglass designer. How’d that happen?
- ……And finally, Paddy Lynch weighs in with a “cops deserve the benefit of the doubt rant”. Somebody needs to tell him he won re-election already!
- Florida GOP leaders: Candidates who skip Florida should not be on ballot. Seems Florida’s worried about diminishing influence in primary sweepstakes. But would a ballot with only JEB Bush and Marco Rubio be taken seriously. They’re the only ones who’ve agreed to show up for the party’s candidates summit.
- Senate Democrats again block vote to reject Iran deal. What, again? Don’t McConnell and his people have anything better to do, like funding the government?
- Speaking of which…With possible shutdown nearing, Obama looks to take budget fight to GOP. Good idea, but it only works if the other side is sane!
- Census survey: Nearly 9 million Americans gained health insurance in 2014. And Republicans want to kill Obamacare? Good luck with that!
- Muslim teen arrested after teacher mistakes clock for bomb. And they locked him up and suspended him from school for what?
- Cuomo and Christie say states can pay half of Hudson rail tunnel project. So who picks up the other half? The feds, same people Christie’s running for president against. Oh, he’s still running for president?
- Vinyl LP frenzy brings record pressing machines back to life. Young people are buying more than half the vinyl records produced in the country. One man has stuck to his vinyl guns longer than anyone I know.
Wednesday Sep 09, 2015
The Mark Riley Show – 09.09.15
Wednesday Sep 09, 2015
Wednesday Sep 09, 2015
- Kim Davis is freed from jail in Kentucky gay marriage dispute. Whether this woman stayed in jail wasn’t the issue. Now that she’s out, she needs to stay out of the business of issuing marriages unless she’s prepared to follow the law.
- Oregon judge who refused to perform same sex marriages hung portrait of Hitler in courthouse and bullied veterans: documents. How do people like this get jobs, for God’s sake? Any of these three allegations, if true, should disqualify him.
- As New Mexico scandals grow, Democrats hope to tarnish governor. My experience says that the benefits of scandal to the opposition is limited, and means if the show ever winds up on the other foot, there will be no quarter given.
- Mayor de Blasio says homeless problem is decades old. Well, DUH! Maybe this was reaction to criticism from Giuliani, but why react?
- Baltimore approves $6.4 million dollar settlement with Freddie Gray’s family. It leads me to ask, what exactly is a human life worth?
- Hillary Clinton on e-mails: I’m sorry. What exactly is it that she’s alleged to have done wrong here? Co-mingling personal and State Dept. communications? Sorry, it’s not the worst thing in the world. And yet, people say it won’t go away.
- European official calls for continent to take in 160,000 migrants. What a mess this has turned out to be. Could it be karma?
- Cuomo pledges advice and assistance to Puerto Rico. Nice, but what is substantive?
- Grifters, nutcases, and GOP leaders hold pro war rally. What else would expect from the likes of these people. This is their flavor of the week.
Thursday Sep 03, 2015
The Mark Riley Show – 09.02.15
Thursday Sep 03, 2015
Thursday Sep 03, 2015
- Upstate groups rally for secession. Yeah, upstate NY and Alabama Good luck with that, both of you. If they were to get their wish, they’d both go under financially in less than 18 months.
- Cop pays for hotel for homeless mom and daughter. So often, we badmouth all police as if there’s no difference among them. This story shows it’s not true.
- From local Kentucky fixture to lightning rod. This woman, Kim Davis, should either be summarily fired or impeached for failing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples, as required by law. And this from a woman who has been married four times, twice to the same man. Oh yeah, that all happened before she found God.
- Obama gets votes needed on Iran nuclear deal. Sen. Barbara Mikluski was the 34th vote. Now the Republicans and warhawks can go on to another issue. Wanna bet they won’t?
- After playing down a homeless crisis, de Blasio changes course. He needed to, after the person tasked with fixing the problem quit.
- Sony altered “Concussion” film to prevent NFL protests, e-mails show. And Sony doesn’t even do direct business with the league. Guess is, they’re backing away from showing any league responsibility in crippling injuries.
- Power failure snarls Long Island Railroad service. Even the NY Times is starting to realize this, and NJ Transit’s similar problems are a function of infrastructure neglect. Question is, who is to be held accountable?
- Hearing starts in Freddie Gray’s police death case. This one may not be as simple as some black activists want it to be or think it will be.
- Man accused of gunning down Texas deputy at gas station had history of mental illness. Story here is that Texas authorities at first blamed Black Lives Matter. They had to back away from that one. Notice, however, the use of race in this case, where there was no mention of whatever demons drove the white guy in Louisiana to kill a state trooper who had stopped to help him.
- Judge in California delivers Uber’s worst nightmare. This has to do with whether drivers are employees or contractors, and it may have national implications. Cute commercials may not get them out of this.