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It’s mostly Supreme Court on the preview of this midweek supporters’ episode, with Mike and Jay discussing whether the EPA can force Ohio to be a “good neighbor” to downwind states, when a bribe isn’t a bribe, whether the Purdue Pharma OxyContin settlement should have been thrown out, and – in a non-court discussion, their thoughts on the Julian Assange plea deal.
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Mike and Jay open with a discussion of President Biden’s disastrous performance in the first presidential debate. Mike was actually hoping for a worse outcome that would all but force Biden from the race, which he doesn’t think will happen, despite multiple calls for Biden to step aside. Jay wonders how Biden’s closest confidants and top advisors allowed things to get to this point. Mike suggests that Biden may still be able to handle the non-public-facing parts of the job, which Jay doubts, particularly in the event of a national security emergency.
After that, they turn to the Supreme Court ending Chevron deference, in a ruling that will have major implications for government agencies, Congress, and the courts. Mike has long been a supporter of Chevron but thinks that the Court made the right call here, which both surprises and pleases Jay, who’s never been a fan of Chevron.
Following that they discuss two other major decisions of the Court – one that allows women in Idaho to obtain abortions to preserve their lives and health and another in which the Court decided that plaintiffs arguing the government censored their social media posts don’t have standing to sue.
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Mike talks with attorney, author, and historian Talmage Boston. His books include Cross-Examining History, Raising the Bar: The Crucial Role of Lawyers in History, and most recently, How The Best Did It: Leadership Lessons From Our Top Presidents, which is the focus of their discussion.
Topics Mike and Talmage cover include:
- the “Great 8”: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, TR, FDR, Ike, JFK, and Reagan
- key leadership strengths of those 8 presidents
- the main weakness of each of the 8 presidents
- most important presidential leadership skills
- if it’s harder to be a great political leader in today’s world
- strengths and weaknesses of Joe Biden and Donald Trump
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Trey & Ken discuss the meaning of the 11th Amendment including:
Chisholm v Georgia
Hans v Louisiana
Ex parte Young
Fitzpatrick v Bitzer
Seminole Tribe v Florida
Central Virginia Community College v Katz
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Trey & Ken open by delving into President Biden's proposed path to citizenship for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens, analyzing its potential impacts and political ramifications. Trey argues the timing is a political bone to the left in the wake of his tougher border policies.
Next, they tackle the implications of three major Supreme Court cases. In the first, Moore v. United States, upholding foreign asset taxing, Trey and Ken agree with the majority but Trey disagrees with the policy implications of a wealth tax. In the second, Gonzalez v. Trevino, both Trey and Ken agree that reigning in some protection for police officers is important. Still, Ken argues that all the justices would change their votes if it were applied to former president Trump. In the third, United States v. Rahimi, they discuss the upholding of the Second Amendment's constitutionality for those under domestic violence orders.
Lastly, they explore the Senate's recent blockage of the Democratic-led bump stock ban by Senate Republicans. Trey argues Republicans are simply using it as a political tool for the upcoming election and hopes afterward a ban will be possible.
Check out Democracy Works, Mike’s other podcast - Sustainable Planet, and the Sustainable Planet Substack.
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Mike talks with Liam deClive-Lowe, co-founder and co-president of American Policy Ventures. APV is a group that works with people and organizations across the ideological spectrum to make it easier for policymakers to effectively solve critical policy problems. They sponsored the Georgetown Battleground Civility Poll that came out not too long ago, which is the focus of their conversation
Topics Mike & Liam Discuss Include:
- the mission of AVP
- the value of Democrat and Republican pollsters working together
- why most Republicans and Democrats believe democracy is threatened
- fighting for values vs working for the best possible solution
- getting to a point of ‘slightly less loathing’
- how close we are to civil war
- why Congress is more bipartisan than you might think
- opportunities for bipartisanship
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Mike and May open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode by discussing the House of Representatives holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over audio of Special Counsel Hur’s interview with President Biden in the classified documents investigation. They agree that this is political on both sides, and that while the Biden camp may not have strong legal ground to stand on, it’s not likely the audio will be released before the election.
Following that they turn to the conservative backlash against YouTuber Ms. Rachel. Many conservatives believe that Ms. Rachel’s support for Pride Month and the inclusion of a non-binary guest makes her channel inappropriate for children. Mike argues that Ms. Rachel isn’t doing anything objectionable, and nothing that amounts to ‘grooming’, a term he argues conservatives throw around with reckless abandon,.
They close by discussing May’s recent article in the Washington Examiner on a federal magistrate judge’s ruling that not transferring a female-identifying, biologically male prisoner to a women’s prison violates her 8th Amendment rights. May finds this completely out of line with any reasonable understanding of the amendment, whereas Mike sees it as a reasonable conclusion to reach considering the circumstances in this particular case.
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Mike & May open with a discussion of the guilty verdict in the Hunter Biden gun trial. They discuss Biden’s defense, the possibility of a pardon or commutation by President Biden, Donald Trump’s reaction, and how this may all play out politically.
Next, they turn to two big Supreme Court decisions. In the first of these, a unanimous Court found that the group challenging the FDA’s loosening of restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone didn’t have standing to sue. Mike agrees, but May feels that standing has become such a degraded doctrine that the right should be able to take advantage of it as much as she feels the left has in the past.
They close with the Court’s ruling that the Trump-era ATF exceeded its authority by banning bump stocks. Mike and May agree with the ruling, but Mike is more inclined to give regulatory agencies some deference in interpreting statutes than May.
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Political scientist Travis Taylor talks with law professor Joshua Douglas about his new book The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights, in which he writes about the U.S. Supreme Court's recent history of prioritizing the power of states to regulate elections over the rights of voters.
Topics Travis and Josh Cover Include:
· how the Court has changed the standard by which it reviews voting rights cases
· combating election fraud and maintaining voter access
· the direction the Court is going in light of more recent decisions in "extreme" cases
· potential solutions to correct the Court's current course
· conservative criticisms of the book and why conservatives should read it
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Trey and Ken finish the Bill of Rights by delving into the origins and significance of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Topics covered include:
Federalist and Anti-Federalist debates during and after the Constitution's drafting, addressing concerns that listing specific rights might imply that others were not protected.
Does the Ninth Amendment make textualism pointless?
The conflict between the philosophic origins of the Ninth Amendment and why legal scholars abandoned it.
The Tenth Amendment's balance between federal and state power
Lessons learned from the Articles of Confederation
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
The modern (1990s) application of the Tenth Amendment.
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Trey and Ken start the show with Biden’s immigration order. President Biden has announced a sweeping executive action on immigration, authorizing U.S. immigration officials to deport large numbers of migrants without processing their asylum claims. This new policy, seen as one of the most restrictive border policies by a Democratic president, marks a significant shift in the administration’s approach to border security. Ken partially defends Biden’s order, even if it looks similar to past Trump policies. Trey argues that Biden issued it as a proclamation instead of an executive order because he recognizes it is not inherently constitutional.
Next, Attorney General Merrick Garland faced intense scrutiny from Republicans this week. Garland was grilled on Capitol Hill and has seen his standing on both the right and the left fall. Ken argues that Garland has overemphasized neutrality and has not properly pursued former President Trump and allies. Trey argues that the left’s attacks on Garland are nearly identical to those from Republicans and are no more founded than those from the Republicans.
Finally, the pair discuss Dr. Anthony Fauci’s testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, where he addressed critical issues related to the U.S. response to COVID-19. Fauci admitted that the “6 feet apart” social distancing recommendation lacked robust empirical support and it was more of an arbitrary guideline. He also acknowledged that the lab leak theory regarding the origins of COVID-19 should not be dismissed outright, a significant shift from his earlier stance. Both Trey and Ken continue to agree he largely did well in his capacity during the pandemic, however, Trey faults him for wrongfully downplaying, primarily for political reasons, the possibility of a lab leak in China.
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Mike talks with Les Leopold, co-founder and executive director of the Labor Institute, a nonprofit organization that develops and conducts education and policy programs for unions, environmental organizations, community groups, and immigrant worker centers on workplace health and safety, the environment, economics, and movement building. He’s also the author of multiple books. His latest is Wall Street’s War on Workers: How Mass Layoffs and Greed are Destroying the Working Class and What to Do About It, which they talk about in this episode.
Topics Mike & Les Discuss Include:
- if Wall Street is really at war with workers
- how to understand ultra-low unemployment rates
- technology, globalization, and US workers
- the economic and psychological toll of mass layoffs
- the decline of public sector unions in the US
- how government policy can make things better for workers
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Mike and Jay open the preview of this supporters’ midweek episode with a discussion of the Supreme Court’s decision in NRA v. Vullo, a case in which Jay submitted an amicus brief to the Court. The Justices unanimously agreed with (most of) Jay’s reasoning, as does Mike.
From there, they move on to the decision by the Biden administration to allow Ukraine to use US weapons to strike inside Russia, which they both agree with, but wish were less limited.
Following that is a discussion of the Libertarian Party presidential nominee Chase Oliver, the fairly extreme planks in the Texas Republican Party’s platform, and how the lack of enthusiasm of Black voters for Biden could affect his reelection chances.
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Mike & Jay open with a discussion of Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Mike isn’t crazy about the law but believes that the prosecutor, judge, and jury acted reasonably in applying it. Jay discusses possible grounds for appeal. They agree that the effect of the conviction won’t be great, but that any small political benefit should be to Biden.
Then they move to calls for Justice Samuel Alito’s recusal. Mike starts with some comments concerning Ken’s characterization of Alito as corrupt and racist on last week’s show with Trey. On the issue of recusal, neither Mike nor Jay think Alito should step back, though Mike is somewhat more troubled by self-recusal at the Supreme Court level.
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Mike talks with Corey Nathan, host of the most excellent podcast, Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other. Corey shares his unique perspective as a "born-again Christian with a thick Jewish accent" and how his background has influenced his approach to discussing sensitive topics like politics and religion.
Topics Mike & Corey Discuss Include:
- how and why Corey doesn’t fit the ‘Evangelical Christian’ stereotype
- discussing politics with evangelical Christians
- a Biblical approach to political issues like immigration and LGBTQ rights
- searching for the truth, as opposed to trying to ‘win’ every argument
- the value of regularly engaging with people with whom we disagree
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Trey talks with Becca Block, author of Can You Help Me Give a Sh*t, in which she discusses the surprising policy implications of listening to student's voices in public education.
Topics Trey and Becca Cover Include
are we asking too much of the public school system?
what it means to listen deeply to student voices
the competing policy desires of parents, teachers, and students
the intersection of race and gender on educational policy
are libertarians right when it comes to public education?
Follow Becca on her website, and check out Can You Help Me Give A Sh*t
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Trey and Ken dive into the 7th and 8th Amendments. Topics include:
The historic origins of jury trials
The lack of contemporary 7th Amendment cases
Excessive bail
Excessive fines and civil forfiture
Cruel and unusual punishment
The death penalty
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Trey & Ken start the show by delving into the International Court of Justice’s Friday ruling against Israel. Trey and Ken disagree over the scope of the decision as to whether it prohibits further offensive action. Ken believes the ICJ is offering wiggle room and Trey does not.
Staying overseas, the guys talk about the surprising call for snap elections in the United Kingdom. The hosts focus on the motivations behind this decision, especially given recent poll numbers for Conservatives, the potential outcomes, and the impact it could have on British politics.
Next, attention turns to the primary elections in Georgia, Oregon, and Kentucky along with the special election in California. The focus is primarily on the presidential election. Trey believes it points to a low turnout election and Ken is more optimistic.
In Supreme Court news, Trey and Ken finish the show over the landmark ruling on racial gerrymandering. Here Ken believes that Justice Alito is overtly racist and inconsistent. Trey pushes back hard and argues that Ken fundamentally misunderstands Alito’s ruling. They dive deep into the details of the decision. They also address the recent Alito flag controversy.
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Trey talks with Elizabeth Neumann, former Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, about her recently released book Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace.
Topics Trey and Elizabeth Cover Include
from foreign extremism to domestic extremism
the Christian case against extremism
the evolution of religion and politics
how left and right differ in extremist activities
Follow Elizabeth on X, and check out Kingdom of Rage
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Mike and Trey kick off the previeww of this midweek supporters’ episode with a look at the Supreme Court’s upholding the funding structure for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Mike and Trey think this was the right call, with Trey arguing that Justices Alito and Gorsuch are conflating the unconstitutional with what they may believe to be unwise public policy.
Next, they discuss how AT&T improperly influenced the Illinois legislature into passing bills favorable to the company. This turns into a broader discussion of the problem of state and local-level corruption and why it may be worse today than it has been in the recent past.
Following that they turn to stadium subsidies – why voters approve them, why economists hate them, and what can be done to make it harder for pro sports owners to tell cities, ‘pay up or we’re moving’.
They close with Trey discussing why many evangelicals support Israel, and how his support differs. Before long, they end up in some deeper theological and philosophical waters.
Mike’s other podcast is Sustainable Planet.
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