Opening Arguments - OA184: Families at the Border

Today's Rapid Response Friday helps separate fact from fiction when it comes to the heartwrenching issue of families being separated at the border.  Is the Trump administration to blame?  Did the recent Executive Order fix the problem?  Listen and find out. First, though, we bring back (almost) everyone's favorite segment:  Andrew Was Wrong!  Specifically, Andrew was wrong when he predicted back in Episode 83 that Maajid Nawaz didn't have much of a defamation case against the Southern Poverty Law center, and in Episode 84 that he didn't have much leverage, either.  Well, both of those predictions looked foolish now that the SPLC has agreed to pay Nawaz $3,375,000 and issue an unconditional apology. In the main segment, we break down Trump's EO regarding separating families at the border and requesting a modification to the Flores v. Reno settlement.  It's bad.  And if it weren't bad enough, we also discuss the administration's change in asylum policy. After that, we discuss the Supreme Court's recent opinion in Pereira v. Sessions.  Surely that can't be bad news, too?  (Don't call us Shirley.) Finally, we end with an all new Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #81 involving the constitutionality of a state legislature retaliating against two professors for pushing campus speech codes.  Have we piqued your interest yet?  Listen and find out!  And if you'd like to play along , just retweet our episode on Twitter or share it on Facebook along with your guess and the #TTTBE hashtag.  We'll release the answer on next Tuesday's episode along with our favorite entry! Recent Appearances Andrew was recently a guest on the David Pakman Show, with a two-part appearance discussing whether President Trump can be indicted and if so, whether he can pardon himself.  You can watch the video on YouTube. Show Notes & Links
  1. We first discussed Maajid Nawaz's legal threats in Episode 83 and Episode 84.  You can read the final Settlement Agreement for yourself as well as check out the SPLC's apology to Nawaz.
  2. Click here to read the Snopes article conclusively debunking the political claim that this policy was put into place "by Democrats."
  3. You can read Trump's recent Executive Order and also check out the original 1997 Flores v. Reno settlement.
  4. The operative laws discussed during the main segment were:  8 U.S.C. § 1158 (asylum); 8 U.S.C. § 1325 (“improper entry by alien”); and, of course, 18 U.S.C. § 46 (“transportation of water hyacinths”).  You can also read the Attorney General's Interim Decision #3929 on refugees for yourself.
  5. As promised, this is the full list of Class B federal misdemeanors.
  6. We also discussed this Washington Post article on refugees being turned away at the border.
  7. This is the Supreme Court's recent opinion in Pereira v. Sessions.
  8. Finally, a secret Yodel for you folks who read the show notes:  here's the link to the news that Michael Cohen's fired his old lawyers (McDermott, Will & Emery) and hired a new one (Guy Petrillo).  What does this mean?  Only time will tell.
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The Gist - A Song You Can Graduate To

On The Gist, those beacons of honesty—retiring Republican members of the Congress.

Cremation has the carbon footprint of a 1,000-mile road trip, your average bee has nearly 1 million brain cells, and only 3 to 4 percent of gossip is actually “malicious.” Those are all statistics relayed in Walt Hickey’s Numlock News, the daily newsletter he started after four years at FiveThirtyEight. 

In the Spiel, graduation songs over the years. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bay Curious - The Origins of Bay Area Place Names

California was named after a fictional island for black Amazon-like warrior women, ruled by Queen Calafia. What about Bay Area names?


Reported by Jessica Placzek and Dan Brekke. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Jessica Placzek, Ryan Levi, Paul Lancour, Suzie Racho, Amanda Font and Julia McEvoy. Holly Kernan is Vice President for News. Theme music by Pat Mesiti-Miller. Ask us a question at BayCurious.org. Follow Olivia Allen-Price on Twitter @oallenprice.

The NewsWorthy - Executive Order, Facebook Subscriptions & First Day of Summer (+ Talking Space Force with Todd Harrison) – Thursday, June 21st, 2018

All the news to know for Thursday, June 21st, 2018! 

Today, we're talking about the executive order to stop family separations at the border (and how it hasn't stopped the controversy).

Plus: subscriptions for movies and the longest day of the year.

All that and much more in less than 10 minutes!

Award-winning broadcast journalist and former TV news reporter Erica Mandy breaks it all down for you. 

 Then, hang out after the news for the bonus Three Question Thursday interview. This week we're talking about President Trump's call to create a sixth branch of the military called 'Space Force.'

The guest today is Todd Harrison. He's the Director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He's leading in-depth, nonpartisan research about space security and defense funding issues, including the 2018 Space Threat Assessment.

He tells us what a Space Force might actually do, who’s for and against it and why and the expected timeline.

For more info and links to all the stories referenced in today's episode, visit https://www.theNewsWorthy.com and click Episodes.

Serious Inquiries Only - SIO144: Aimee Terese on Socialism

My guest this week is Aimee Terese, co-host of the Dead Pundits podcast. She is a self-described socialist, which allows us to shift the SI-Overton Window a bit to the left, for once. We talk about what socialism means to her, how liberals and socialists can and should work together, and more! Aimee has a background in philosophy and is currently studying law with an emphasis on critical legal theory. Leave Thomas a voicemail! (916) 750-4746, remember short and to the point! Support the show at seriouspod.com/support! Follow us on Twitter: @seriouspod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seriouspod For comments, email thomas@seriouspod.com