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When will the United States understand how important immigrants are to our country? It is not easy to get a green card. It is largely up the government who wins and who loses when it comes to immigrating to the U.S. This is part two of a two-part discussion about DACA. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There are about 11 million undocumented immigrants residing in the United States. About 800,000 immigrants in the U.S. are current DACA-holders. There is no way for them to get a green card or to become permanent residents. This is why when President Trump announced he was ending DACA in 2017, many Dreamers feared they would be deported immediately. But, mow the United States Supreme Court is deciding their fate. This is part one of a two-part discussion about DACA. In two weeks we will release part two. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How can we make health care third-party free? When you go to see the doctor, they’re required to code your visit in order to get reimbursed by an insurance company or by Medicare or Medicaid, and what they put down influences what they get paid. But, Direct Primary Care doctors are trying to challenge how we envision our health care system. Does there need to be a middleman in health care? Why can't consumers pay their health care providers directly? How do we make basic primary care cheaper? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 1932, the Ukraine was a thriving farming nation. At the time, Joseph Stalin was trying to take back control. He was attempting to collectivize all farms, bringing all agriculture under state control. This led to a man-made mass starvation in a nation where 85% of the population was farmers. Why are a majority of people unaware of the 1932 Ukrainian famine, the Holomodor? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

President after president, and now even a slew of presidential candidates, promise to end endless wars, yet our troops remain engaged in hotbeds like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. What will it take for the United States to finally bring our troops home? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode is a re-release of Episode 3 from Season One of the Pursuit. Government, big or small, really does impact people’s lives. And more than that, it sets the tone about what people believe they can do about their own lives. And when government makes people feel as though it’s untrustworthy or the individual is unempowered, in democracy, that’s bad. In our system, it really needs to be a system of laws and not just of people exerting power. Image Credit: Institute for Justice See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Shownotes: Over the course of the early 20th century, a series of amendments and court cases slowly expanded the FDA’s purview. But advocates of the “Right to Try” are motivating the FDA to act more efficiently and compassionately.Mentions: Landry Ayres spoke with Laura McLinn, Jessica Flanigan, and Christina Sandefur. Special thanks to Tom Oszman from TCMediaNow for providing us with video footage from October 1988’s Seize Control of the FDA protest. Image Credit: ABC News, President Trump signing “Right to Try” legislation. Transcript: See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Shownotes: When left untreated, individuals with severe mental illness can occasionally end up in jail for minor charges. The system is cyclical, recidivism rates are high, and law enforcement acts not only as judge and jury, but also as caretaker. The mental health crisis in this country is severe, and government only exacerbates the problem.Mentions: Throughout this episode Tess Terrible talked with; Alisa Roth, Justin Volpe, Judge Leifman, Walter Thompson, Leah Reed, and Ayesha Delany-Brumsey. Music by Cellophane Sam See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 2018, just under 3% of all federal sentences were the outcome of a jury trial. An overwhelming amount were the consequence of plea deal. Does the current system of deals and agreements make us safer?Mentions: Throughout this episode Landry Ayres talked with; Clark Neily, Kevin Ring, Molly Gill, and Lucian Dervan Music by Cellophane Sam Image Credit: https://fordlawokc.com/plea-bargains-explained/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Prior to November 2018, felons in Florida were barred from the voting booth for life. That meant that about 10% of the voting age population in the state was disenfranchised for having a felony conviction. When someone owes a debt to society, how should we determine when it’s paid in full?Mentions: Throughout this episode Natalie Dowzicky talked with; Julie Ebenstein, Neil Volz, Lance Wissinger, and Ashley Thomas Image Credit: New York Post Music by Cellophane Sam See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If you are convicted of a crime, can the police take hold of your personal property as part of your sentence? Forfeiture has resulted in many individuals losing some of their most valuable possessions. It has not helped police fight the War on Drugs and it remains one of the largest threat to personal property rights.Mentions: Throughout this episode Tess Terrible talked with; Tyson Timbs, Sam Gedge, Theshia Naidoo, Solicitor General Fisher, and Natalie Dowzicky. We also included Oral Argument from Timbs v. Indiana at the Supreme Court of the United States Image Credit: Institute for Justice Music by Cellophane Sam See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We hear life, liberty and property, the Lockean version, or life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which was something that the Founding Fathers of course used in the Declaration of Independence. It’s really interesting and important that property was replaced with pursuit of happiness. In order to be able to pursue the American dream, something that people even today risk their lives coming from other countries to come to the United States to be free and to be able to pursue their right to earn an honest living, to earn food and shelter for their families and to create things. You need to have property rights. You need to have ownership. You need to know that the things that you own and the things that you create are yours. Music by Cellophane Sam. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Due to the lack of transparency across most states and within the federal government, we simply don’t know whether people are convicted of a crime when their property is taken or not. Even the Department of Justice, which tracks more details about seized property than most states, does not track whether or not forfeited property was forfeited in conjunction with any sort of criminal charges or conviction. Music by Cellophane Sam. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Many people who are proponents of the drug war believe that an important component of waging the drug war is to take away the money that essentially finances it and that provides the incentives for people to participate in the drug market, the illegal drug market. But when you allow law enforcement essentially to, what we sometimes refer to as police for profit, they will begin to focus their attention and their resources on policing the crimes that enable them to seize large amounts of cash, oftentimes at the expense of policing the more serious crimes like murder and other violent crimes. Music by Cellophane Sam. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Government, big or small, really does impact people’s lives. And more than that, it sets the tone about what people believe they can do about their own lives. And when government makes people feel as though it’s untrustworthy or the individual is unempowered, in democracy, that’s bad. In our system, it really needs to be a system of laws and not just of people exerting power. Music by Cellophane Sam. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Eminent domain is the power of government to take someone’s property away from them. And there are two requirements for government to exercise eminent domain, it has to be for a public use and it has to be justly compensated. Music by Cellophane Sam. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Eminent domain emphasizes that property taken must benefit the public and that the government must pay just compensation. In theory, asset forfeiture’s main objective is to dismantle crime. If used correctly within limitation, and carefully, these seem like effective, reasonable government tools. But are they? Music by Cellophane Sam. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.