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Showing posts with label Constitution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Constitution. Show all posts
Sunday, August 2, 2026
Saturday, August 1, 2026
'Ricochet' explores how the right to bear arms expands — while gun laws contract (Terry Gross; Fresh Air podcast)
The New York Times reporter Mike McIntire says gun companies and the NRA are broadening the scope of the Second Amendment, socializing kids to appreciate guns and marketing a new brand of masculinity.
Interview:
Sunday, July 26, 2026
Can You Lie for Jesus? Joel Webbon Thinks So (Dan McClellan and Dan Beecher; Data Over Dogma podcast on YouTube)
Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon says the state should seize churches that fly pride flags and auction the buildings to "faithful" churches — then tells politicians who agree with him to keep quiet about it until after they've won office.
This episode we take issue with the whole scheme: it isn't biblical, it isn't American, and it leans on a Hebrew Bible king (Josiah) precisely because the New Testament won't cooperate. But then things get strange, because when you ask whether the Bible actually forbids deception, the answer — right up to God himself — is a whole lot messier than "thou shalt not bear false witness."
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:48 Can You Lie for Jesus?
1:30 Who Is Joel Webbon?
3:43 Josiah's Purge (2 Kings 23)
6:08 Propaganda, Not History
6:39 Depose the Pride-Flag Pastors
7:51 Hide Your Power Levels
9:19 Echoes of Project 2025
10:11 Is It Biblical?
13:08 Kings vs. the New Testament
14:15 No Religious Test for Office
16:25 Is It American?
18:27 Can You Lie for Good?
20:26 Jacob and the Divine Trickster
22:12 When God Lies
23:53 Why Is Lying the Line?
26:02 Is Webbon Consistent?
28:18 Deception in Real Politics
30:38 Wrap-Up
This episode we take issue with the whole scheme: it isn't biblical, it isn't American, and it leans on a Hebrew Bible king (Josiah) precisely because the New Testament won't cooperate. But then things get strange, because when you ask whether the Bible actually forbids deception, the answer — right up to God himself — is a whole lot messier than "thou shalt not bear false witness."
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:48 Can You Lie for Jesus?
1:30 Who Is Joel Webbon?
3:43 Josiah's Purge (2 Kings 23)
6:08 Propaganda, Not History
6:39 Depose the Pride-Flag Pastors
7:51 Hide Your Power Levels
9:19 Echoes of Project 2025
10:11 Is It Biblical?
13:08 Kings vs. the New Testament
14:15 No Religious Test for Office
16:25 Is It American?
18:27 Can You Lie for Good?
20:26 Jacob and the Divine Trickster
22:12 When God Lies
23:53 Why Is Lying the Line?
26:02 Is Webbon Consistent?
28:18 Deception in Real Politics
30:38 Wrap-Up
Interview:
Friday, July 24, 2026
Monday, July 20, 2026
Al Mohler vs. The Constitution (Warren Throckmorton; The Christian Past That Wasn’t: Formerly Telling Jefferson Lies podcast)
In this final episode of the season, there are three parts which support the concluding chapter of The Christian Past That Wasn't. The first part is former Secretary of Health and Human Services Ben Carson's false telling of Ben Franklin's call to prayer during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Carson said the delegates stopped and prayed after Franklin called them to prayer. They didn't. This is the kind of folklore which I correct in The Christian Past That Wasn't.
The second part of this segment is a brief analysis of Al Mohler's admission that the Constitution doesn't acknowledge any Christian foundation. This significant admission came in a short video this week. Even though Mohler is honest about one aspect of the Constitution, he considers the lack of explicit Christian language to be an error on the part of the founders. Here is where he is wrong and I respond to Al Mohler's opposition to the American Constitution.
The third and final part tracks with the Conclusion of The Christian Past That Wasn't. I discuss separation of church and state in light of the golden rule and the moral teachings of Christ. I end the podcast where I started it by examining the issue of posting copies of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. I come down on the side that posting the Decalogue is an imposition of one faith over others and thus an improper establishment of religion. As such it violates the golden rule. If I don't want someone to impose their faith on me, I shouldn't do that to others.
In the words of Texas state legislator John Bryant from the podcast, "That's not fair, and that's not American."
Interview:
The second part of this segment is a brief analysis of Al Mohler's admission that the Constitution doesn't acknowledge any Christian foundation. This significant admission came in a short video this week. Even though Mohler is honest about one aspect of the Constitution, he considers the lack of explicit Christian language to be an error on the part of the founders. Here is where he is wrong and I respond to Al Mohler's opposition to the American Constitution.
The third and final part tracks with the Conclusion of The Christian Past That Wasn't. I discuss separation of church and state in light of the golden rule and the moral teachings of Christ. I end the podcast where I started it by examining the issue of posting copies of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. I come down on the side that posting the Decalogue is an imposition of one faith over others and thus an improper establishment of religion. As such it violates the golden rule. If I don't want someone to impose their faith on me, I shouldn't do that to others.
In the words of Texas state legislator John Bryant from the podcast, "That's not fair, and that's not American."
Interview:
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Wednesday, July 8, 2026
How America's Foundation was Built on Propaganda
What is the true meaning of the 4th of July and American independence? This special episode of A People's History of Native America argues that the 4th of July’s roots are further from patriotism and closer to propaganda. Rather than independence, this day represents the centuries-long seizure and ethnic cleansing of Native American land. By looking at the history surrounding the American Revolution, we will uncover that Native Americans were an unexpected threat to the founders’ vision for their future country and plans for Westward expansion.
Monday, July 6, 2026
Thursday, July 2, 2026
What to know about the US supreme court ruling on birthright citizenship
So instead, Trump is pushing for lawmakers to create new legislation that establish exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to parents who do not have permanent legal status in the US.
But any legislation would need to overcome the 60-vote filibuster, which has proven to be frequently insurmountable on extremely divisive bills during his second term…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/30/birthright-citizenship-explained-supreme-court
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Supreme Court rejects Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship - POLITICO
The justices ruled that the Constitution guarantees U.S. citizenship to virtually everyone born on American soil...
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/30/birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-ruling-00980448
Monday, June 29, 2026
Al and Dahlia Lithwick on The Monarchic Supreme Court (Al Franken podcast on YouTube)
For the final episode of The Al Franken Podcast, we're joined one last time by our good friend Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor at Slate and host of the Amicus podcast! As we await the Supreme Court’s remaining decisions, we turn to Dahlia to recap a bleak judicial term, including the decisions to gut the Voting Rights Act, strip immigrants of their Temporary Protected Status, and expel transgender servicemembers from the military.
Dahlia and Al look past the mainstream media's narrative of a "moderate" bench to reveal an institution deeply aligned with MAGA's political playbook that continues to make way for an imperial presidency. On a more hopeful note, Dahlia offers a blueprint for how regular citizens can find their lane and fight back from the ground up. Dahlia issues a call for Americans to move past "learned helplessness" to dismantle the cult of the Court and return constitutional power to the people.
Interview:
Dahlia and Al look past the mainstream media's narrative of a "moderate" bench to reveal an institution deeply aligned with MAGA's political playbook that continues to make way for an imperial presidency. On a more hopeful note, Dahlia offers a blueprint for how regular citizens can find their lane and fight back from the ground up. Dahlia issues a call for Americans to move past "learned helplessness" to dismantle the cult of the Court and return constitutional power to the people.
Interview:
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Is America a Christian Nation Because States Once Required Religious Tests? (Warren Throckmorton; The Christian Past That Wasn’t: Formerly Telling Jefferson Lies podcast)
Warren Throckmorton says:
Interview:
Produced, written, and hosted by Warren Throckmorton Slippery Rock University history professor Aaron Cowan and Dartmouth College religion professor Randall Balmer make appearances in this episode. Music by Jonas Fair, Jeremiah Lawson, and Netop. Book ordering options at www.christianpast.com.Chapter 4 of The Christian Past That Wasn't takes up the question of this episode. This episode cites the book and expands on it as well.
In sum, I take the position that the experience of colonial and state governments are historically interesting but not directly relevant to our secular system of Constitutional government.
What the framers did in the Constitutional Convention is what is relevant.
In the book, I fact check claims about what the states required for office holders and I examine the ways different states handled church and state relationships. There was the Williams Way (Rhode Island and to some degree the mid-Atlantic states) and the Winthrop Way (Massachusetts and everybody else). This is not to say that America is a secular nation culturally speaking. If anything, the nation became more culturally Christian after the founders passed from the scene.
One of the reasons the founding era was reframed as a Christian founding was due to the heavy influence of Christianity in the expanding nation.
Interview:
Friday, May 29, 2026
Appeals court dismisses lawsuit targeting voter-approved abortion rights in Michigan constitution
In 2022, 56% of Michigan voters approved Proposal 3, an amendment which added reproductive rights, including abortion rights, to the state constitution…
A federal district court dismissed the lawsuit for failing to adequately link any alleged harms to the officials, and the decision by the 6th Circuit agreed.
Monday, May 25, 2026
This Is Christian Nationalism: Breaking Down Rededicate 250 (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)
Sunday's nine-hour “Rededicate 250” event on the National Mall brought together politicians and religious leaders calling for America to be returned to God. In this episode, Brad Onishi breaks down key statements from figures like Robert Jeffress, Mike Johnson, Pete Hegseth, and Marco Rubio, exposing how their claims rely on selective history, mythmaking, and a deeply misleading vision of the founding. From the Doctrine of Discovery to the legend of Washington at Valley Forge, the story being told isn’t just inaccurate—it’s strategic.
This episode argues that Christian nationalism is not about personal faith or patriotism, but about power: the belief that certain religious identities deserve greater authority in public life. By revisiting the Constitution, the founding era, and the principle of “we the people,” Brad shows what’s actually at stake—religious freedom, democratic equality, and the boundary between church and state. The question isn’t whether religion belongs in American life, but whether the government gets to decide whose religion counts.
Interview:
This episode argues that Christian nationalism is not about personal faith or patriotism, but about power: the belief that certain religious identities deserve greater authority in public life. By revisiting the Constitution, the founding era, and the principle of “we the people,” Brad shows what’s actually at stake—religious freedom, democratic equality, and the boundary between church and state. The question isn’t whether religion belongs in American life, but whether the government gets to decide whose religion counts.
Interview:
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Evidence the American System Was Not Founded on Christianity - Bonus Episode (Warren Throckmorton; The Christian Past That Wasn’t: Formerly Telling Jefferson Lies podcast)
Throckmorton says:
America as we celebrate it today was founded in stages. Independence came via the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War. Our current system of government came later via the Constitutional Convention in 1787. In this short episode, I focus on the system created by the Constitution as amended by the Bill of Rights.
Interview:
Monday, May 11, 2026
Rep. Rosa DeLauro on Congressional Chaos (Al Franken podcast on YouTube)
Guest Host Norm Ornstein welcomes Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) to cover all the news happening in Congress. We cover the war in Iran and how it’s driving prices up across the country and the world, consequently having a major impact on Americans' wallets. DeLauro calls this a "war of choice" and discusses what Congress can realistically do to invoke the War Powers Act and reclaim its constitutional authority.
DeLauro is the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee and reveals how the Trump administration is taking the power of the purse away from Congress.
Plus, the midterms are rapidly approaching. Can Democrats make enough gains to slow down the Trump administration?
Interview:
DeLauro is the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee and reveals how the Trump administration is taking the power of the purse away from Congress.
Plus, the midterms are rapidly approaching. Can Democrats make enough gains to slow down the Trump administration?
Interview:
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
US edges closer to popular vote deciding winner of presidential elections
Under the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, states would assign their presidential electors to the winner of the popular vote, regardless of the results within the state. The compact takes effect when states representing a majority of electoral votes – 270 of 538 – pass the legislation and thus would determine the winner of the presidential contest. With Virginia, the compact now has 222 electors...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/14/majority-vote-for-president-us-constitution
Friday, March 20, 2026
Efforts to shut down pro-Palestinian speech face series of setbacks in court
Rulings in cases alleging antisemitism on US campuses say common pro-Palestinian speech is constitutionally protected…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/19/pro-palestinian-speech-antisemitism-lawsuits
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Friday, March 6, 2026
Campaign to amend MI Constitution, require citizenship proof to register to vote, submits signatures
"The real problem is not, in my opinion, this is popular with voters, it's that voters were lied to and mislead," Billingsley said...
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