October 6, 2014 - James McPherson
EPISODE NUMBER: 11005 (October 6, 2014)
GUESTS: James McPherson | Allison Orr Larsen
SEGMENTS: Intro-10/6/14 | Victory for Gay Marriage & the Rise of Amicus Briefs | Victory for Gay Marriage & the Rise of Amicus Briefs - Allison Orr Larsen | A Rare Correction - No Ebola Outbreak in the U.S. | James M. McPherson | Sign Off – Goodnight
SUIT REPORT: Dark Grey Suit | White Shirt | Black and Purple Striped Tie
VIDEOS: Monday, October 6, 2014
Stephen without glasses, soaking up the adulation from the audience.
Intro-10/6/14
“Tonight…Who is influencing the Supreme Court? Fashion-wise, I’d say it’s the Druids. Then, a surprising weapon in the fight against Ebola. You arm white blood cells with guns and give the virus a hoodie…and my guest, Civil war historian James McPherson has a new book about Confederate President Jefferson Davis, or as I call him, the Lincoln of slavery. Investigators have found that Isis has used ammunition from 21 different countries, including China. Oh no! Some of those bullets might contain lead. This is The Colbert Report.”
Victory for Gay Marriage & the Rise of Amicus Briefs
The Supreme Court began its new session on Monday. They are way late in getting back to school.
- It’s like the start of football season, but unlike the NFL, these players actually go to court.
They got things going with a rejection of gay marriage. Wait, no, it’s a good thing. Well, if you’re a proponent. Anyone else get really confused when court decisions are read? Good. I’m not the only one.
All I know is gay marriage will be allowed to proceed in states like Stephen’s home state, South Carolina. I never thought that day would come.
Jeffrey Toobin (on TV): 60% of the American people now live in a state where same sex marriage is legal. It seems inevitable that the rest of the country will follow.
- Stephen: Inevitable, that the rest of the country will follow. Well, I guess that’s it. I’d like to thank my wife Lorraine for 25 good years…
- …and I’d like to welcome my new government mandated life partner, Roger Cornsworth.
- Rog and I are registered at Restoration Hardware. We’re doing our entire living room in hammered stainless steel.
The Supreme Court has been relying on amicus briefs. They are written by people who are not necessarily experts in their field and have no involvement in the case. Makes perfect sense.
- I read about it in the Virginia Law Review. I’m a long time subscriber. I use them to hide my Hustlers.
- The article was written by William and Mary law professor, Allison Orr Larsen. In it, Allison…or Larsen, not sure which one it was, blows the lid off Amicus Curiae.
One amicus brief cited a figure from an internet blog that has been discontinued.
- So what if it’s discontinued? I get all of my legal research from cached Geocities pages from the ’90’s. That’s how I know it’s my constitutional right to get jiggy with Gillian Anderson.
- Why limit the court to amicus briefs when there are so many other sources for unverified facts? What about Snapple caps? Your honor Alabama seeks precedent to redistrict voter precincts because…
…emus can’t walk backwards
Victory for Gay Marriage & the Rise of Amicus Briefs - Allison Orr Larsen
Stephen brought out not Emily Bazelon, but rather Allison Orr Larsen, to discuss the Supreme Court. She is a professor at William and Mary and has researched amicus briefs.
Allison: These are filed by motivated groups, who don’t have a dog in the fight.
Stephen: Why wouldn’t you want a motivated person, what’s the downside to that?
Allison: I think that the downside is if we aren’t testing that, right? When you want an expert witness at trial, you don’t let anyone come to the courthouse steps to testify.
Stephen: Anybody who agrees with me.
Allison: No, it doesn’t work like that.
She goes on to explain about how with this practice you end up picking what already fits your worldview.
Stephen: Which justices do this more than others?
Allison: Well, they all do it…some of them complain when their colleagues do it.
Stephen: They still do it themselves though?
Allison: Yes.
Stephen: Who is that? Does Scalia complain about it?
Allison: He does complain about it.
Stephen: But does he do it anyway?
Allison: He has done it.
Stephen: Aww, that’s Antonin!
A Rare Correction - No Ebola Outbreak in the U.S.
The newsmedia is convinced that the govt. is lying to us about the Ebola outbreak. Stephen issues a correction for telling us all that Ebola is a threat.
- Ever since the first case was identified, the CDC has stepped in to isolate the virus, monitor everyone at risk and contain any chance of further infection. You can sleep soundly. There will be no Ebola outbreak in the United States….is what they want you to believe! (cue scary music and colbrow):
Cue fearmongering in mostly right wing newsmedia outlets. What else is new?
Many accuse the Centers for Disease Control of lying, one media personality calls them the Centers for Denial and Confusion. WO! Clever.
- Yes, the Coalition for Deception and Coercion is lying.
- I don’t trust the CDC, or Coven of Deviants and Charletans.
Judge Jeanine was the worst of them. She’s on Fox news where she is not allowed to blink.
Interview - James M. McPherson
My guest tonight has a new book about Confederate President Jefferson Davis. I will claim the interview is about something other than slavery. Please welcome James McPherson.
Mr. McPherson is a Civil War historian so he knows a thing or two, but he grew up in North Dakota. Stephen grew up in Charleston so he also knows a thing or two about the Confederacy.
Stephen wondered why he would write about Davis when so many people in the South still love Robert E. Lee. Davis was at the top of the Confederacy and took all the blame for everything.
Stephen: First question about Davis, great Confederate President or the greatest Confederate President?
McPherson: He was the only Confederate President.
Stephen: I’ll put you down for greatest, ’cause I only have great or greatest.Jefferson Davis owned 113 slaves. 113. Yup, think about that.
Stephen had a theory and took a sharpie to the front cover of the book to alter it in a way that I think many of us were imagining.
Stephen: Is there any chance that Jefferson Davis and Lincoln were the same man? Did anyone ever see them in the same room together?
McPherson: No one ever did.
Stephen: So they could’ve been the same person and they just said that Mary Todd was crazy to protect Lincoln’s secret identity.