Thank You For Listening: Recent Episodes
ExThree Exclamation
A deep dive into Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the United States Supreme Court opinion drafted by Justice Samuel Alito that overturns Roe v. Wade after almost 50 years and allows the government to ban abortions. I first cover the bad news, then the really bad news, then the really really bad news, before finally ending with the good news.
Why I’m not convinced that the leaked opinion of Sam Alito is the final opinion of the United States Supreme Court and the possibility that the leak is a sign that five justices may not be on board with banning abortion.
Making sense of the leaked Supreme Court opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito that appears to overturn the 1973 holding in Roe v. Wade and ends 49 years of a constitutional right to choose to have an abortion in the United States. If the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution does not provide a right to an abortion, can the right be saved under the establishment clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution?
An update on the 110-year prison sentence for the truck driver who caused an accident when his brakes failed on the highway and a discussion about the President who did not want to be king and the pop star who anointed himself as one.
In 2019, Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, a 23-year old Cuban-American truck driver was hauling timber on a Colorado highway when his brakes failed, causing a major pileup. Four people died and Mr. Aguilera-Mederos was criminally charged and convicted for being reckless, as the District Attorney of Jefferson County argued that Mr. Aguilera-Mederos failed to heed the warning signs that the brakes on his truck needed to be repaired. He received a 110 year (life) sentence, even though everyone, including the government, agreed that he had no malicious intent and did not intend to cause anyone harm. The premiere episode of Thank You For Listening explores how it’s possible that someone in the United Stares of America who bears responsibility for unintentionally causing a death can receive the same life sentence as a murderer who intentionally takes another life. As explained, it’s about money and the efforts of state governments and their District Attorneys to coerce defendants, largely minorities, to waive their Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial, accept plea bargains and admit guilt under the threat of draconian life sentences should they go to trial and lose. Mr. Aguilera-Mederos refused to waive his constitutional rights and now he’s being punished for it. He’s not the first victim of this corrupt practice that has become the norm in the United States and he won’t be the last, unless the People and their elected officials stand up and decide to do something about it.