Episodes

Our special guest on this passion week episode, 2024 (Good Friday, Easter Weekend) is the former Professor of Ancient History at The Sorbonne in Paris, Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges. He joins us to discuss what he calls
“The Omnipotence of the State: The Ancients Knew Nothing of Individual Liberty”, his chapter XVII of The Ancient City (La Cite Antique), published in 1864 and translated into English by Willard Smith in 1873. My copy was published by Doubleday in 1956.

Fustel de Coulanges joins us through his writing as we see how Christianity and its Jewish ancestors changed all that, with a Good Friday reflection for today.

Here’s a Brett Kavanaugh resource on the purpose of separation of powers to protect individual liberty (p. 22) : https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/from-the-bench.pdf

The Republican Professor is a pro-correctly-contemplating-individual-liberty-and-separation-of-powers podcast.

Therefore, welcome Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges !

Our guest today defends the most vulnerable people, often at his own substantial cost, from bureaucrats who use the police power of the state to abuse Americans.

Does the Second Amendment protect the right to keep and bear non-lethal arms? If it protects the right to keep and bear lethal arms for self-defense, a fortiori, it would seem so. Butterfly knives can be used for self-defense without deploying the blade, and so can baseball bats be used for lawful purposes, including self-defense. Yet Democratic states like Hawai’i, California, Rhode Island have criminalized this innocent conduct, primarily using its prosecutorial discretion to enforce only against the most vulnerable, low income residents of those states, and Democrats have done so for decades prior to enough Republican judicial appointees to make a difference in turning this tide.

Mr. Alan Beck sues Hawai’i for infringement of the rights of American Samoans, Green Card holders, and Hawai’ian residents and wins. As a result of his cases on behalf of low income, vulnerable people, anti-Second-Amendment laws in several states have come to an end.

His cases have overturned California and Hawai’ian laws that are selectively enforced against low income people bearing billy clubs for self-defense, butterfly knives and stun guns, as well as ensured open carry in the 9th Circuit Democratic strongholds such as the island county of Hawai’i (Big Island). He has also won the right to carry guns on beaches in Maui.

Here are links to some of his cases:

Judge Benitez (US District Court, So Cal)’s reasoning for striking down California State’s criminalization of the innocent conduct of simple possession of billy clubs and batons. https://assets.nationbuilder.com/firearmspolicycoalition/pages/5882/attachments/original/1710186934/2024.03.11_069_OPINION.pdf?1710186934

Teter v. Lopez (2023) 9th Circuit 3-Republican-Judge Panel striking down Hawai’i State’s criminalization of innocent conduct of simple possession of butterfly knives. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5867277631911526691&q=teter+v+lopez&hl=en&as_sdt=2003

The original 2018 Young v. Hawai’i 9th Circuity 3-Republican-Judge Panel striking down Hawai’i State’s criminalization of the innocent conduct of simple possession of butterfly knives.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6052697244371933777&q=young+v.+hawaii&hl=en&as_sdt=2003

The above case was lost en banc, but then US Supreme Court granted cert, vacated and remanded the en banc panel.

The Republican Professor Podcast is a pro-defending-the-vulnerable-against-bureaucrats-and-politicians-who-criminalize-innocent-conduct podcast.

Therefore, welcome Mr. Alan Beck !

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

To financially support this podcast, comment on today’s episode, or to make a suggestion for a topic or guest for the podcast or Substack newsletter, send an email to therepublicanprofessor@substack.com . We’d love to hear from you.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast
The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack
https://therepublicanprofessor.substack.com/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/podcast/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/articles/

How should we define these terms “Left” and “Right” ? What do they, and what should they mean ? We take a break from our time with Professor Helmut Thielicke (Theology, Univ. Hamburg, Germany) to have an excursus on the topic that Thielicke raised and that we discussed here on The Republican Professor Podcast.

And that topic is: What is Left ? What is Right ? A Study of Political Extremism, and our special guest on the podcast today is W. Cleon Skousen.

Professor Skousen died before we were able to get him on the podcast in person. Professor Skousen joins us through his teaching in his pamphlet by the same name / title. My copy was originally published by the Freeman Institute in 1981 in Salt Lake City, Utah. I had a copy as a teenager that I read carefully when I was a high school student. I have since found another copy on Ebay, and if you can find a copy, I highly recommend purchasing it.

We thank the Freeman Institute for making it available back then.

Professor Skousen died before we were able to get him on the podcast in person.

The Republican Professor Podcast is a pro-correctly-defining-Left-and-Right podcast.

Therefore, welcome Professor W. Cleon Skousen !

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

To financially support this podcast, comment on today’s episode, or to make a suggestion for a topic or guest for the podcast or Substack newsletter, send an email to therepublicanprofessor@substack.com . We’d love to hear from you.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast
The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack

This is part 3 in a series on The Republican Professor Podcast, an introduction to theological reflection on American government.

Here, we broach the topic of the “power state,” or the “totalitarian state,” what our guest calls a “pseudo church.” Our very special guest today is, once again, the esteemed and long-time Professor of Theology at the University of Hamburg, Helmut Thielicke.

And I’ve invited Professor Thielicke to join us today through my performative reading (with my scholarly commentary upon) and fair use of his teaching on this topic in his magisterial “Theological Ethics, Volume 2: Politics.” My copy of the book was published in 1969 by Fortress Press.

Please buy a copy of the book and follow along with our study of this material. Here’s a link to the book: https://www.amazon.com/Theological-Ethics-Politics-Helmut-Thielicke/dp/0802817920

Please, please support your brick and mortar used book dealers as well.

Professor Thielicke died before we were able to invite him in person as a guest on the podcast.

Thanks to Fortress Press, the book is still in print and would be a valuable addition, indeed, to your personal library. Please support the work of Fortress Press and buy the book, and check out the other selections that they carry, as well.

The Republican Professor Podcast is a pro-deeply-conversing-on-the-theological-aspects-of-the-nature-of-government podcast.

Therefore, welcome Professor Helmut Thielicke !

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

To financially support this podcast, comment on today’s episode, or to make a suggestion for a topic or guest for the podcast or Substack newsletter, send an email to therepublicanprofessor@substack.com . We’d love to hear from you.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast
The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack
https://therepublicanprofessor.substack.com/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/podcast/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/articles/

This is part 2 in a series on The Republican Professor Podcast, an introduction to theological foundations of American government, continuing our theological reflection on the “authority” of government per se. Again, to help us with this topic, our very special guest today is the long-time Professor of Theology at the University of Hamburg, Helmut Thielicke.

And I’ve invited Professor Thielicke to join us today through my performative reading (with my scholarly commentary upon) and fair use of his teaching on this topic in his magisterial “Theological Ethics, Volume 2: Politics.” My copy of the book was published in 1969 by Fortress Press.

Please buy a copy of the book and follow along with our study of this material. Here’s a link to the book: https://www.amazon.com/Theological-Ethics-Politics-Helmut-Thielicke/dp/0802817920

Professor Thielicke died before we were able to invite him in person as a guest on the podcast.

But thanks to Fortress Press, the book is still in print and would be a valuable addition, indeed, to your personal library. Please support the work of Fortress Press and buy the book, and check out the other selections that they carry, as well.

The Republican Professor Podcast is a pro-deeply-conversing-on-the-theological-nature-of-government podcast.

Therefore, welcome Professor Helmut Thielicke !

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

To financially support this podcast, comment on today’s episode, or to make a suggestion for a topic or guest for the podcast or Substack newsletter, send an email to therepublicanprofessor@substack.com . We’d love to hear from you.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast
The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack
https://therepublicanprofessor.substack.com/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/podcast/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/articles/

Today’s topic on The Republican Professor Podcast is an introduction to theological foundations of American government, starting with the theological reflection on the “authority” of government per se. And to help us with this topic, our very special guest today is the long-time Professor of Theology at the University of Hamburg, Helmut Thielicke.

And I’ve invited Professor Thielicke to join us today through my performative reading (with my scholarly commentary upon) and fair use of his teaching on this topic in his magisterial “Theological Ethics, Volume 2: Politics.” My copy of the book was published in 1969 by Fortress Press.

Please buy a copy of the book and follow along with our study of this material.
Here’s a link to the book:
https://www.amazon.com/Theological-Ethics-Politics-Helmut-Thielicke/dp/0802817920

Professor Thielicke died before we were able to invite him physically as a guest on the podcast.

But thanks to Fortress Press, the book is still in print and would be a valuable addition, indeed, to your personal library. Please support the work of Fortress Press and buy the book, and check out the other selections that they carry, as well.

The Republican Professor Podcast is a pro-deeply-conversing-on-the-theological-nature-of-government podcast.

Therefore, welcome Professor Helmut Thielicke !

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

To financially support this podcast, comment on today’s episode, or to make a suggestion for a topic or guest for the podcast or Substack newsletter, send an email to therepublicanprofessor@substack.com . We’d love to hear from you.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast
The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack
https://therepublicanprofessor.substack.com/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/podcast/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/articles/

Today’s topic on The Republican Professor Podcast is the doctrine of “sensitive places” as an attempt to curb the right to bear arms, and to help us through that topic, our guest is the youngest judge appointed to the federal bench by President Trump, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who was confirmed by a Republican US Senate. She is a trial court judge in Florida.

Judge Mizelle joins us today through her judicial writing in her order in U.S. v. Ayala, entered 12 January 2024.

The Republican Professor Podcast is a pro-correctly-understanding-the-police-power, pro-accurately-capturing-Civil-Liberties, pro-correcting-outlining-and-enforcing-the-Second-Amendment podcast.

Therefore, welcome Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle !

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

To financially support this podcast, comment on today’s episode, or to make a suggestion for a topic or guest for the podcast or Substack newsletter, send an email to therepublicanprofessor@substack.com . We’d love to hear from you.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast
The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack
https://therepublicanprofessor.substack.com/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/podcast/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/articles/

Today’s topic is Religious Liberty versus Public Health, namely a vaccine mandate, and the case is from early 2020, and the guest is James Ho.

The Honorable Judge James Ho joins us through his judicial writing, his opinion published in Brett Horvath v. City of Leander, TX, which is in the 946th volume of the 3rd series of the Federal Reporter starting on page 796 (946 F. 3d 787 at 796, Ho, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).

Judge Ho was appointed to the Fifth Circuit by President Donald Trump and confirmed by a Republican US Senate.

We also talk about requirements under precedent, but not under text and original public understanding, of the requirements for qualified immunity in 42 USC § 1983 claims.

The Republican Professor is a pro-correctly-contemplating-the-religion-clauses-of-the-First-Amendment, pro-getting-a-grip-on-qualified-immunity podcast.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast
The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack
https://therepublicanprofessor.substack.com/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/podcast/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/articles/
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRepublicanProfessor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRepublicanProfessor
Twitter: @RepublicanProf
Instagram: @the_republican_professor

Today’s special guest on The Republican Professor Podcast is the Hon. Brett Kavanaugh, former judge on the U.S Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Former Judge Kavanaugh was nominated to the D.C. Circuit by President George W. Bush and confirmed by a Republican U.S. Senate in 2006. Prior to that, Brett Kavanaugh worked in the White House as a staff secretary to the president.

Judge Kavanaugh was nominated to the US Supreme Court in 2018 by President Donald Trump, and confirmed again by a Republican U.S. Senate.

Former Judge Kavanaugh joins us today on TRP Podcast through his judicial writing, his dissenting opinion in Heller v. District of Columbia 670 F.3d 1269 (2011), Kavanaugh, J., dissenting. He would have struck down the so-called “assault weapon” ban imposed on semi-automatic rifles in D.C. in the wake of District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008).

Multiple time TRP Podcast guest Dr. Stephen P. Halbrook, J.D., Ph.D. argued the 2011 case before Judge Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit. Judge Kavanaugh agreed with Dr. Halbrook, in dissent.

The Republican Professor Podcast is a pro-correctly-understanding-the-police-power, pro-accurately-capturing-Civil-Liberties podcast.

Therefore, welcome Brett Kavanaugh !

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

To financially support this podcast, comment on today’s episode, or to make a suggestion for a topic or guest for the podcast or Substack newsletter, send an email to therepublicanprofessor@substack.com . We’d love to hear from you.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast
The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack
https://therepublicanprofessor.substack.com/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/podcast/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/articles/

Today’s guest on The Republican Professor podcast is a Democrat, the honorable Rufus Peckham, former associate justice on the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Justice Peckham was nominated to the high Court by President Grover Cleveland and confirmed by a Republican United States Senate.

Mr. Peckham joins us today through his judicial writing, his decision for the Court in the matter of Lochner v. New York, decided April of 1905.

The Republican Professor is a pro-correctly-articulating-a correct-understanding-of-the-Police-power-of-the-State podcast.

Therefore, welcome Justice Rufus Peckam, Democrat, former Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court .

The Republican Professor is produced and hosted by Dr. Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

To financially support this podcast, comment on today’s episode, or to make a suggestion for a topic or guest for the podcast or Substack newsletter, send an email to therepublicanprofessor@substack.com . We’d love to hear from you.

Warmly,

Lucas J. Mather, Ph.D.

The Republican Professor Podcast
The Republican Professor Newsletter on Substack
https://therepublicanprofessor.substack.com/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/podcast/
https://www.therepublicanprofessor.com/articles/