The Saturday Podcast

The LPOV on the Road

Constitution Thursday – The Saturday Podcast

In the late summer of 2013, many things changed at KFIV, including the arrivals of a new Station Manager, who had a consultant that felt that Afternoons Live with Dave & John did not represent “traditional talk radio.” The Consultant made it clear that he believed that “the audience hates” Constitution Thursday (along with the other set-piece segments, The Top 5 and Fun with News, but he specifically fingered Constitution Thursday as despised by the audience because we turned off the phones during the segment to avoid distractions).

After my somewhat negative reaction to that pronouncement and my presentation of The Grand Finale episode, literally the final hour of Afternoons Live with Dave & John, I was assured by management that I could “keep doing it (Constitution Thursday) as a podcast,” if I “wanted to do so.” To be frank, I wasn’t sure it could be done during the workweek, which meant that in order to do it, weekend time – already at a premium with a three-year-old and a wife who works nights – was going to be needed. But we decided to push ahead and try it out.

The first episode features John, but it was soon clear that without the context of the show and with the time commitment on weekends, that wasn’t going to work. The LPOV, which was born at a meeting at the now-defunct Mike’s Roadhouse in Modesto, stepped up, and with a new team of myself, “Chatroom” Jeff Gregory and Pat “The Lawyer” Edaburn, we started anew. After a few episodes, we decided to reformat the show as a broadcastable podcast. It mirrors the time segments of a regular hour of The Dave Bowman Show, with the reasoning that eventually, we might be able to air them as fill for the show. In at least two cases, this actually happened!

We even took the show “on the road,” to the Turlock VFW to record an episode in front of a live audience, including questions and comments.

THE SATURDAY PODCASTS

THE NSA COFFEE MUG – The NSA might be the only Department in the Government that actually listens to the people, but they have absolutely no sense of humor about it at all. Does the 1st Amendment give us the right to make fun of them?

MT. SOLEDAD – When a long-standing monument is accused of being an establishment of religion, the court cases start flying and the counter-accusations begin to mount up. The 1st Amendment and Religion

THE INSANE CLOWN POSSE – Members of The Insane Clown Posse and their fans file a lawsuit alleging violations of their 1st Amendment rights to be jerks. Or something like that, anyway. The backdrop is the “firing” and rapid “un-firing” of Phil Robertson after he expressed his own opinions. 1st Amendment and speech.

FOUR DEAD IN OHIO – Are there any “reasonable” restrictions on ownership of guns? Until 2008 there was only one ruling from the Supreme Court on the individual right to keep and bear arms, and it wasn’t what pretty much every American thought it was. 2nd Amendment.

I DON’T LIKE MONDAYS – The first school shooting leads to an examination of the restrictions on guns for mental illnesses and whether or not those restrictions are (a) possible and (b) Constitutional. 2nd Amendment.

GOOD MORAL CHARACTER – The Peruta ruling on the California Law requiring a person to “show good cause” has a great deal of local impact as one local Sheriff requires “good moral character” in addition to showing good cause. 2nd Amendment

WHEN IS REASONABLE? – The Fernandez Ruing contains a disturbing comment from one Supreme Court Justice who seems to be saying that it doesn’t matter when the Police get a warrant, as long as they do. 4th Amendment

BUZZ BROCKAWAY – More and more on the Right are calling for an Article V Convention. But be careful what you wish for, you might get it and it might not be what you thought that it would be. Article V

US GOVERNMENT v US GOVERNMENT – The IRS scandal sees Lois Lerner take the 5th Amendment to avoid self-incrimination. But can the government, being investigated by the government for a potential violation of the People’s Rights, really take the 5th against itself? 5th Amendment

QUID PRO QUO – The McCutcheon Ruling equates an individual’s money given to a political campaign with speech. But is it? And if it is, should there be limits at all?

THE BUG OUT BAG – A microphone malfunction results in two different looks at the Kaley Ruling and the right to effective counsel and the use of the Grand Jury to indict ham sandwiches. 6th Amendment

AN ANONYMOUS TIP – Live from the Turlock VFW Hall, a tip from an unknown source leads to the arrest of two men on drug charges. But should an anonymous tip be allowed in the first place? And once it s, how far can the Police use that tip? 4th Amendment.

THE SUPREME RULES – The Supreme Court weighs in on several cases, including cell phone warrants, the NLRB recess appointments, and free speech

DRAWN SWORDS – A Sikh man who is a citizen of the US and California is told that he cannot serve on a jury since he carries at all times his ceremonial blade. Is this a violation of his right to be on a Jury? And is his argument helped at all when a group of Sikh goes all “Game of Thrones” on each other in a disagreement? 6th Amendment, 7th Amendment.

Inadvertent DNA – In Maryland, a man is accused of a rape two years after it occurred. He refuses to give a DNA sample, but while being questioned by the Police, he literally sweated out the evidence. which has the boys wondering, will Jeff have to wear a clean suit everywhere he goes from now on?

Shark Fins – Although the Federal Government regulates the fishing trade, the State of California goes one step further and bans the possession, distribution, and sale of shark fins in the state. A local Chinese-American Association sues in Federal Court, alleging that the ban is racist and that it violates the commerce clause as well as the supremacy clause of the Constitution. Is the ban “racist” given that Shark Fin Soup is a Chinese delicacy? And does the ban interfere with commerce? Lastly, if Federal Law is supreme, can the State of California go further and outright ban the shark fins?