I had a blast on Houston Matters, a great local show on Houston Public Radio. The topic of yesterday’s program was what the 28th Amendment to the Constitution should be. Callers proposed different amendments, and Teddy Rave  of the University of Houston Law Center and I weighed them.

One of my favorite (and craziest) callers proposed executing any official who does not comply with the Constitution. That gives new meaning to “take care that the laws are faithfully *executed*” Another caller said we should strengthen the separation of Church and State in the Constitution. I told her (to her surprise) that the First Amendment says nothing about this separation, and referenced Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists. Another caller said we should abolish the penny! I wholeheartedly agree. It costs 1.8 cents to make. We should do to Lincoln’s coin what Lincoln did to habeas corpus–suspend it!

Perhaps my favorite part was when a caller asked about amending the Constitution to eliminate protections for corporate speech. I reminded everyone that I am speaking on a corporation (KUHF), and that this corporation is relying heavily on the First Amendment. I hope that message got through to opponents of Citizens United who routinely donate to public radio. And yes, I’m aware that they may avail themselves of the Press Clause, rather than the Free Speech clause, but other non-Press corporations have routinely availed themselves of corporate personhood for purposes of the First Amendment.

I threw out some red meat to Texas listeners, including a proposal to allow states to secede, prohibit the federal government from requiring people to engage in commercial activity, and the ever-popular repeal of the federal income tax. It was a fun show.

Thanks to my mom, who was in town, for recording me in studio.

 

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