And we do those things, as Justice Stevens wrote, to guard freedom and prevent a totalitarian rise.

To the lawyers reading this:

Do not forget your oath.

Do not shirk your responsibility to the Republic.

Do not give in.

We uphold the constitution.

We use our knowledge to help the oppressed.

We act with consideration to the defenseless.

When we are accepted as members of a legal bar, we take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States.

In Missouri, newly sworn in attorneys must proclaim they, “will practice law to the best of [their] knowledge and ability and with consideration for the defenseless and oppressed.”

That’s why the oligarchs have pushed to end funding to non-profits providing legal services to those who wouldn’t otherwise have the means to receive them.

That’s why humans being kidnapped and deported aren’t given a lawyer and a hearing before a court in broad daylight.

That’s why the largest, most powerful law firms in the world are being targeted by the architects of Project 2025.

Shakespeare knew it in the 1500s.

Hitler knew it in the 1930s

Justice Stevens knew it in 1985.

And Americans seeking to destroy democracy know it now.

Authoritarianism cannot exist in a world where individual citizens have the right to oppose injustice.

He then cited to Henry VI, Part II, writing, “As a careful reading of that text will reveal, Shakespeare insightfully realized that disposing of lawyers is a step in the direction of a totalitarian form of government.”

Justice John Paul Stevens dissented. For fourteen pages. In that dissent, he wrote: “Just as I disagree with the present Court's crabbed view of the concept of ‘liberty,’ so do I reject its apparent unawareness of the function of the independent lawyer as a guardian of our freedom.”

In a 6-3 decision, the majority held that the $10 limit did not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

In the 1985 Supreme Court case, Walters v. Radiation Survivors, the Court evaluated a statute that limited to $10 the fee that may be paid an attorney seeking benefits from the Veterans' Administration for service-connected death or disability.

It is easier to control a population ignorant of their rights, and easier yet when those educated in the laws of the land no longer exist to oppose those seeking destroy it.

Removing those who seek to defend justice is the only way for injustice to prevail.

Dick the Butcher, who makes the statement, is the henchman of Jack Cade. They fear intellectualism. Kill those who can read. Burn books. Destroy documents.

It’s cool though. My RV is parked at the campground and eventually I will find y’all.

It really is like searching for your friends at the state fair! Like lemme go check over here at the Coliseum and see if I can find anyone…😂

As I’ve said in Missouri many times—there is no one person coming to save us. There’s no magical unicorn candidate who will stave off autocracy. That power is within each one of us. And the best thing we can do is use it when we can, where we can, while we can.

But it’s a lot harder to do than make a podcast or sit in meetings and jockey for proximity to power. Often, the people doing the best work + making the most effective change are people without a national platform who live in communities like yours.

Sadly, hubs is prepared for the same.

I feel like this should be a special segment on your podcast when they’re holding the hearings.

That is super kind. Thank you!