Video Podcasts

353 – Qualified Immunity

Imagine you have immunity for any bad actions you take. You’ve probably heard of diplomatic immunity, where officials of other countries are shielded from prosecution. Then there’s sovereign immunity, when the head of government cannot be charged. But in America, our legal system has come up with the idea of qualified immunity. While the idea of qualified immunity may make sense, like so many other things, it has been badly abused by those in government.
The State of New York is considering legislation that may put the brakes on some of the abuses of qualified immunity. Would this make things better or worse?

352 – How Important is Freedom of Speech?

In 1722, writing as Silence Dogood, Benjamin Franklin wrote:

“Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech;”
Silence Dogood, No. 8, 9 July 1722

Why is freedom of speech so important? As Mr. Franklin stated, there is public liberty without it, but what does that mean. Yes, without freedom of speech people cannot express themselves, but there’s more. Without freedom of speech we would never be exposed to contradictory ideas, and we would never grow. The basis of the scientific method is the testing of contradictory ideas. If freedom of speech is so important, why do people keep tying to shut it down? Take New York State’s “Online Hate Speech Law”. Why is the State of New York attempting to get social media networks to act as government censors for them?

351 – The Intelligence Revenue Service

There are few things more universally feared and hatred than the IRS. When I’m asked about unconstitutional government agencies, and I point out that the IRS does exercise a power delegated to the United States, most people are gravely disappointed. While the IRS may legally exist, that does not mean that everything they do is constitutional.

350 – President or King?

When the Framers were drafting the Constitution, they had several examples both for how to create laws and execute them. Would the President be an executive or a king? Read Article II and you’ll see that we have an executive not a king. But is that how modern Presidents act? Alexander Hamilton discussed this in Federalist Papers #69. Let’s look at The Real Character of the Executive, then decide for ourselves whether the current and recent occupants of the office are worthy of it.

349 – Wishful Thinking Going to the Supreme Court

We all indulge in wishful thinking from time to time. What would happen if that wishful thinking made it all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States? That may be just the case with Brunson v. Adams, et al. Mr. Brunson has petitioned the Supreme Court to hear his case against 388 federal officers, including President Biden, Vice President Harris, former Vice President Pence and 385 members of the U.S. House and Senate. Does his case have a constitutional leg to stand on, or is it just wishful thinking?

348 – The Road to Dystopia is Paved with CBDCs

In every dystopian novel or movie I can think of there is either an oppressive government or not functioning government at all. As we travel this road of life, we should be asking ourselves, does this head to more liberty or more control? Take for example Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDCs for short. Would this new currency allow Americans more liberty or would it give government more control of our lives. To understand this, we first need to look at what are CBDCs. Then we can look at both sides of this preverbal digital coin and decide for ourselves, do the benefits outweigh the costs.

347 – Grudge Match Between Sexual Orientation and Religious Freedom

I hear this all the time, how does homosexual marriage impact your marriage. This platitude has a small grain of truth, but it only works if you ignore the rest of reality. It’s not that recognizing other marriages changes your own, but how allowance morphs into coercion and then extortion.

For almost a dozen years there’s been a feud between the State of New York’s Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) and New Hope Family Services (New Hope). New Hope was granted a perpetual corporate authorization as an adoption agency by OCFS. However, between January 2011 and November 2013, OCFS created policies and rules that would require that New Hope place children with couple that would violate their religious beliefs. The suit New Hope filed in December of 2018 has been through ups and downs. With the latest court orders, it appears New Hope is currently enjoying the protection of their religious liberty. Will it be challenged again?

346 – The Cost of Constitutional Illiteracy

Here at the Constitution Study, we spend a lot of time discussing the legal and societal cost of ignoring the Constitution. Have you considered the financial costs though? Sure, we all complain about the size of government, usually around tax season. But of the trillions of dollars spent every year, how much of it is spent on unconstitutional government agencies and programs? Let’s take some time and look at the 2023 budget for the government of the United States, see how much is being spent on these agencies that do not legally exist, and consider the costs of our lack of constitutional literacy.