The Civic Flame

This week, we talk about the vital role of lawyers in our criminal and civil justice systems through the Sixth and Seventh Amendments. We try not to make lawyer jokes (and fail). If you've ever wondered what is the difference between criminal and civil law: this one is for you. 

00:00:30 The Bill of Rights and Lawyers: Amendment 6 and 7

00:01:05 I try not to make lawyer jokes 

00:01: 39 Lawyers were “ambulance chasers” because they protected you from insurance companies

00:02:26 Clarence Darrow and the Cook County Jail Speech

00:03:00 What does the Sixth Amendment Say

00:03:30 How are criminal and civil law different?

00:04:30 The burden of proof is different, and that matters

00:05:01 The government can’t keep secrets from you about the allegations against you

00:05:42 Changes of venue tick people off see Enron and Rodney King Jury trials  are a part of social justice through the criminal justice system. Messing with them undermines the system.

00:06:18 Most cases never go to trial

00:07:42 Public Defenders and Gideon v Wainwright 

00:09:25 Gideon says lawyers are not a luxury, they are mandatory 

00:10:27 What does the Seventh Amendment say? 

00:11:40 What is Civil Gideon?

00:12:04 Next week the 9th and 10th Amendments!

00:12:30 Thank you!

This week, we take a look at the Fifth and Eighth Amendments to the US Constitution and ask: what is due process? What does double jeopardy mean? And when do your Fifth Amendment rights apply? Come and nerd out about due process: your biggest protections from the federal government!

00:00:30 What is the Bill of Rights

00:01:17 Civil Liberties and what is Due Process

00:01:41 The Fifth Amendment

00:02:46 What does due process require

00:03:00 What are grand juries?

00:04:00 What is double jeopardy?

00:05:30 What is the burden of proof?

00:05:51 What does it mean to “plead the Fifth”?

00:07:00 When does custodial interrogation start? 

00:07:30 AI data centers and the future of eminent domain

00:08:30 What does the Eighth Amendment say?

00:09:41 To spot legal inequality look at how different groups are treated differently (see also: the Epstein Files)

00:12:00 Thank you!

In this episode we look at the long and winding history of the Fourth Amendment, why the Federalists were against a Bill of Rights, and how the Fourth Amendment has been interpreted differently over time. Ever wonder what the Patriot Act did to civil liberties or whether the Fourth Amendment covers you in your car (sort of!), then let's go. 

00:00:33 Intro to the Bill of Rights and Due Process

00:01:24 What the Fourth Amendment Says

00:02:54 Why the Federalists Opposed a Bill of Rights

00:05:10 Check out UW Madison Center for the Study of  the American Constitution 

00:06:21 The Supreme Court and limits on the Fourth Amendment and the Castle Doctrine

00:06:59 Key Fourth Amendment Cases

00:07:22 Olmstead v US, wire tapping, Nardone v US, and fruit of the poison tree

00:0810 Katz v US and Carpenter: What/Who is Covered in Privacy? 

00:10:07 What about warrants and public? Thornton v Caldor and land rights 

00:11:37 Probably Cause, Warrants, Terry Stops (Terry v Ohio), and Mapp v Ohio 

00:12:54 Details of Mapp v Ohio and Selective Incorporation 

00:14:10 Terry Stops and the early “stop and frisk” questions

00:14:54 The Patriot Act and erosion of civil liberties 

00:18:43 Conclusion 

00:19:19 Thanks!

Today we get into the Second and Third Amendments. The Third Amendment is our non-controversial fave that says the government can't quarter (though I accidentally say quarantine!) soldiers in your home. The Second Amendment says something about the right to bear arms and maybe more? We get into questions of legal interpretation, mental health, and why it's so difficult to make national laws about something that is a deeply regional issue. Grab your thinking caps and come learn why I enjoy firing a bolt action rifle (it's the analog generation in me). Let's go!

00:01:00 The Bill of Rights says the government should stay out of our business

00:02:00 The Firearms Industry and politicians use fear to distort the narrative  

00:03:00 What the Second Amendment actually says

00:03:08 The Second Amendment writers got a little crazy with the commas

00:03:39 Selective Incorporation and the history of gun regulations, especially for Black men

00:05:22 DC v Heller brings up some questions and changes with the 14th Amendment and incorporation

00:06:00 Originalism and the “the constitution made me do it” doctrine 

00:08:00 Operative Clauses, the gun lobby, and questions of interpretation and the purpose of militia

00:08: 48 Guns as a mental health issues, for-profit mass radicalization, and the benefit to the gun lobby

00:10:35 A Majority of Americans favor gun safety laws but we need to remember regional culture

00:11:41 We have good gun safety laws on the books, but they’re not always enforced 

00:13:15 Extremism, Misogynistic Violence, and public health complicate gun laws

00:15:05 The Second Amendment is not a second-class right

00:16:00 Guns won’t protect you from the government ask Philando Castile and Alex Pretti 

00:17:43 The Third Amendment: the non-problematic fave of Amendments (where I say “quarantine” but should say “quarter” sorry! #CovidShellshock)

00:19:01 Coming Soon: Due Process and Privacy!

This is another quintessential on for our AP GOV audience. What are the 5 RAPPS freedoms in the First Amendment (Religion, Assembly, Press, Petition, and Speech). Check out what the First Amendment does and why it gets to be number one!

00:00:21 What is a Constitutional Amendment

00:01:21 Birthzillas and Madwives has been approved!

00:02:05 The First Amendment to the Constitution Says a lot

00:02:32 What is a Clause

00:03:00 Barron v Baltimore said the Bill of Rights only applies to Federal Government

00:03:24 The 14th Amendment and Selective Incorporation

00:04:28 What does the Establishment Clause actually say?

00:05:20 False Christianity uses the law to hide

00:06:00 How Free Exercise Clause relies on the Establishment Clause (or why I’m a libertarian about religion)

00:07:15 Bremerton v Kennedy case was decided wrongly and that’s bad for real Christians

00:08:00 Radical Groups Hide Behind False Claims of Christianity to use the law (and society

00:08:53 Freedom of Speech and Fighting Words

00:09:24 Chalpinsky v New Hampshire

00:10:00 Political Speech is highest protected and you can’t have content bans 

00:10:37 Freedom of the Press

00:13:09 The answer to hate speech is more speech

00:13:40 The Pentagon Papers, Iran Contra, and the Press

00:13:50 I still love Dan Rather

00:14:30 The Right to Petition and Peaceably Assemble

00:15:00 Resurrection City and why protest is a pillar of democracy

00:16:37 Conclusion

How did we go from the Articles of Confederation to the US Constitution? Check out Article 7 and the ratification process. This week we finish out the Articles of the US Constitution and get ready to discuss the Bill of Rights! 

00:01:11 Article 7 and the Ratification of the US Constitution

00:01:32 What the different Articles of the Constitution do

00:01:55 Article 7 of the Constitution

00:02:40 The Republic of Vermont 

00:03:16 Getting rid of the Articles of Confederation 

00:03:59 James Madison in the Federalist Papers on the right to change the government 

00:04:53 The US, Brexit, and the Legality of Secession

00:06:01 Federalists, Anti-Federalists, and the Bill of Rights

00:08:00 What is ordered liberty?

00:08:28 Originalism violates ordered liberty when it strikes down the elected branches 

00:09:34 Citizens United v FEC undercuts the elected branches

00:11:22 Check out OpensSecrets.org

00:12:48 Justice Stevens dissent in Citizens United and why it remains epic

00:14:26 Thank you

What is Article 6 of the US Constitution? This week we explore the supremacy clause, nullification, and why the US Constitution forbids religious texts. Come learn about how the supremacy clause shaped education discrimination and the legal foundation for federal civil rights. 

00:00:35 What is the Constitution

00:01:41 Federal oath of office

00:02:09 Supreme law of the land

00:03:03 Article 6 Debts Clause

00:03:37 Article 6 Supremacy Clause

00:04:48  Supremacy Clause, Nullification, and School Desegregation Cases

00:05:42 Cooper v Aaron, Ruby Bridges, and the Little Rock Nine

  00:07:21  Cooper v Aaron and the children’s freedom from discrimination

00:08:36 Segregation Academies and the history of Segregation for Wealthy People

00:09:48 “The Supreme Law of the Land” and you “can’t make war against the Constitution”

00:11:09 State governments versus the constitution: who decides?

00:11:38 Article 6 and religious tests and corruption of religion by politics 

00:13:46 John Adams and a government of laws not of men

00:15:30 Conclusion 

In this week’s episode we look at how to amend the US Constitution. What is a constitutional convention? Do we have a 28th Amendment or not? And talk about why the constitutional founders built a system designed to change. Let’s go!

00:00:17 Intro

00:01:17 First four articles of the Constitution, review

00:01:34 Founders did not think the Constitution would last

00:02:24 McCulloch v Maryland and Constitutional Interpretation

00:03:35 Why did the articles of confederation fail?

00:04:10 Thomas Jefferson argued for Constitutional Change: he said the Constitution “Not and ill-fitting coat”

00:05:14 Article 5 of the US Constitution

00:06:20 How we Amend the Constitution

00:008:23 What about the 28th Amendment? History of the ERA

00:10:14 Did Biden support the ERA? Not really.

00:11:26 There are a lot of non-constitutional people in the ERA debate

00:12:25 The end of Article 5 and equal state suffrage in the Senate and slavery

00:13:01 The Declaration of Independence says we can overthrow the government

00:13:57 Government exists to secure rights, says the Declaration of Independence

00:15:33 The Declaration of Independence warns us about complacency and settling 

00:16:19 Change is the basis for the American political system

00:17:19 Thank you!

In this campfire edition of the Civic Flame we look at the economic reasons Trump and his billionaire allies are after Greenland, consider how the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 combined with Trump's greed might lead to catastrophe for the US dollar as reserve currency, and explain why the government siege in Minnesota is related to the potential acts of war against Greenland's sovereignty. 

Table of Contents 

00:00:44 What’s going on with the US and Greenland?  

00:01:54 Trump Claims Greenland

00:02:13 How is Greenland connected to Minnesota 

00:02:37 Political Economy means follow the money

00:03:46 What wealth inequality and a billion dollars looks like

00:04:30 Wealth Supremacy

00:05:39 AI, your utility bills, and the tech bros who want Greenland

00:06:24 Minnesota, Greenland, and Resources

00:07:06 Minesota and Greenland are Natural resources grab

00:07:37 US Policy ABCs: Always Be Colonizing

00:08:07 The bro-ligarchs who bought the media 

00:09:38 Rich People Don’t Manage their own money

00:10:04 Cryptocurrency allows them to hide

00:10:18 The threat to the reserve currency, the US dollar

00:11:10 NATO and Greenland

00:12:02 Billionaires make a lot of money on war and poverty

00:12:39 Republicans Threatening Trump over the Money not the Morals

00:13:44 Why this is George W Bush’s fault

00:14:45 The US is following the decline of other empires

00:15:14 Stand with Greenland and Minnesota

00:15:41 Conclusion