Constitutionally Speaking with Justice David Souter and Margaret Warner

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter took the stage on Friday, September 14 at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH, for the opening event of Constitutionally Speaking, a pilot project aimed at engaging New Hampshire citizens in spirited, yet civil, dialogue about the Nation's founding document. The evening featured a conversation between Justice Souter and Margaret Warner, the Emmy award winning senior correspondent with PBS's nightly NewsHour who began her journalism career in New Hampshire at Foster's Daily Democrat and the Concord Monitor.
Constitutionally Speaking is a collaboration of the NH Supreme Court Society, the UNH School of Law, New Hampshire Humanities, and the newly established NH Institute for Civic Education. Justice Souter has been instrumental in the creation of the Institute, which will provide professional development opportunities to New Hampshire teachers so that civics education becomes a reality for all public school students beginning in Kindergarten and continuing through graduation from high school.
Learn more about the project and upcoming events at www.constitutionallyspeakingnh....

[@bobaddison8399]

David Souter has my highest admiration because he not only serve on the highest court of the U. S., but he also departed with highest admiration. He is a quiet well read and thoughtful man in my opinion. No nonsense, no foolishness, and a 1st class mind. I continue to be impressed with him and wish I could meet him one day. Incredulous man!

[@sharono297]

Wow, What an intelligent man with a foresight that is now coming true four years later.

[@ricosuave5120]

Ignorance has allowed Donald Trump to win the GOP nomination, the ignorance of people who believe a con man is going to help them.

[@johanjohansson7717]

At least republicans don’t burn the American flag.

[@rickt1866]

@@johanjohansson7717 looks like me and you are looking up the same kind of info- huge Trump fan the guy has been the best president in the last 40 years - crazy how the media has got everyone worked up on the democrats side the people on the democrats don't even understand what's being done to them how they are being used it's sad really. check out how the press treat obama here - they rise when he comes in the room show respect to the office - kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpKsk41pa9Jla8U

[@johanjohansson7717]

@@charleswells6863 You need some love in your life! 😀♥️🇱🇷

[@rustycalvera977]

how refreshing to hear deep rational thought with no political axe to grind.

[@gerardizzo7869]

After listening to this compelling interview, another Franklin quote come to mind: “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”

[@uncletony6210]

said the man who thought it was ok to own slaves.

[@terryutterback2334]

This is timely and important to listen to. The talk about civic responsibility and civic ignorance starts at 1:03:34. It is well worth listening to because of what is happening in our election.

[@bensonbrett30]

Thank you.

[@GamerCO4242]

Where are the Civics classes we used to have in school? Eight years of civics classes used to be taught in the public schools.. That keeps people from becoming ignorant generation to generation!!!!!!

[@teammmx]

He and I have the same birthday and this was posted on our birthday last year. ;)

[@deborahadams9201]

The excerpt just aired on MSNBC begins around 1:07.35.

[@hcs4life21]

+skuttytip Both Democrats and Republicans created the monster that is the GOP candidate for president and it's mostly in part due to the constant barrage of media coverage of the man Republicans seem to rally around as if he was God Himself.

[@ricosuave5120]

Well, we can't blame Mitt or Jeb or Condoleeza or Colin Powell or John Kasich for Trump's rise. They warned everybody.

[@hcs4life21]

+Rico Suave If anyone was doing the warning, it would be Souter. He predicted four years ago the very same situation we're in.

[@handle11141]

love you man! all inspiring and informing!

[@zenrising3314]

That fern looks like it's on an episode of Between Two People.

[@nancygleason2443]

David Souter was often in our home in Concord NH. . He was a school boy friend of my brother.

[@dianeslagle4943]

You can watch the Souter clip from Rachel Maddow, with her introductory comments, here: www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show

[@wrx77]

1:07:56 The Maddow part starts.

[@steveallen5663]

I saw the excerpt from MSNBC where is it in here?

[@YamamotoVizard]

me to i want that clip

[@Gaymer49426]

1:03:00-ish

[@leetwid]

1:07:56

[@steveallen5663]

Found it, check out 1:08. Spookey

[@scotrugby4529]

I respect Justice Souter, but he is dead wrong about the 2nd Amendment and here is why. The Bill of Rights was designed to protect individual rights, not group rights. I think they added the militia clause to enumerate an exception to that concept for the sole reason that there was no official standing army at the time and there had to be provision for the militia right to bear arms to accommodate their authority and right to defend the country. You could make the argument that since we now have a standing army, the concept of the militia is an anachronism. If not, than the self identified "militias" like in MT could claim that they are Constitutionally justified in organizing as armed groups. Additionally, if you look to the Framers writings, an individual right to bear arms was there. Rather than the 2 clauses being in conflict (militia and bear arms) they are in conjunction with one another. The right to self defense should be self evident and could also be argued as part of the non emumerated rights mentioned in the 9th amendment which Souter references with regard to things like abortion for instance. Also, and I know that this is in the Declaration and not the Constitution, but if the people didn't have an individual right to bear arms, then the concept Jefferson speaks about replacing the government if it gets out of line would be meaningless if the people didn't have the tools to overthrow that government. I don't think he was referring to a peaceful change. After all, they needed to use force to be liberated from the British, so if the US became tyrannical, well it wouldn't be very peaceful.

[@joininglife]

Justice David "Nostradamus" Souter ~

[@destinationfreedom2939]

"I don't think retired Justices should second guess"... (our good ole boys club) Ugh!

[@rocknrollstar2798]

You left out part of that quote. "To go around second guessing what their colleagues did." It's a respectful position to take. It's undermining the current court's decision while trying to play politics as a retired judge. It's not a "good ole boys" club you idiot.

[@StPete.308]

Justice Souter behaves as one did in a more refined, less vulgar time in our history... less than a dozen years ago. Boy, those were the days.

[@IndianClassical97]

I never understood why he retired so young!

[@dianeconti3684]

I believe that the Gore / Bush decision deeply affected his ethics and lingered on his conscious - I think he felt that in the end -the decision made by his colleagues' was partisan and he maybe felt betrayed by what he considered a mockery of the foundations of the Supreme Court and just said the hell with it ! I am no expert by any means - just read a lot about him .....

[@uncletony6210]

I don't think it affected HIS ethics.

[@2Truth4Liberty]

Three women from New York means there is diversity? Hmmm But I agree with basically with most of the justices, personal background does not influence the decisions about the law except to the extent that an argument may be raised that might otherwise be missed.

[@STLEO1]

Just like BLM ITS A DAM JOKE,I keep telling them they are wasteing their time with the marching and beating their dam chest

[@StPete.308]

Agree. Demonstrations don’t accomplish much unless they are SO big they force change simply because they happen. That bar has risen so high now that when millions of men and women marching nationwide and globally in support of womens’ rights a few days after Trump was elected in 2016 accomplished virtually nothing, and even the hundreds of millions who demonstrated in all across the US and also around the world after George Floyd was murdered in public on a Minneapolis street in 2020 also accomplished virtually nothing. Certainly violence is not the answer, but how many more millions must take to the streets to accomplish something with demonstrations?

[@prajottambe369]

🦋🦋⭐️🦋⭐️🦋🦋

[@destinationfreedom2939]

Equal doesn't mean equal... 2+2= 4 = 2+2=3 Equal doesn't mean equal sometimes... If you like? War equals Peace... An expert of Newspeak is a fictional language in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the novel, it refers to the deliberately impoverished language promoted by the state.

[@EdBern]

2 + 2 = 5

[@cosmos9688]

Trump bad. Where are my upvotes?

[@Mocoso7]

His voice is aweful

[@ricosuave5120]

So is your attitude. God, you're disrespectful.

[@uncletony6210]

your spelling is awefuller

[@Mocoso7]

@@uncletony6210 touche

[@Glitch-nr9ct]

Oh my God,...he is unlistenable. The "Ahhhhh's" are horrible. Wow!

[@ricosuave5120]

Grow up, glitch. Show some respect.