PG51: Trump & Clinton Nearly Clinch, Texas’ Voter Law, Smart Guns, and The Textalyzer

This week’s show starts off with a look at the Democratic and Republican races. On the Democratic site, Hillary Clinton has all but put away Bernie Sanders, while Donald Trump continues his inexorable and, to some, inexplicable, run to the nomination. Next, the Guys talk about a challenge to a voter ID law in Texas which could keep over half a million registered Texans from voting in 2016. After that, Mike and Jay talk about President Obama’s recent push for so-called smart-guns. Finally, the Guys discuss the pros and cons of the ‘Textalyzer’ a new device that would allow police to see if accident victims had been using their phones moments before a crash.

3 thoughts on “PG51: Trump & Clinton Nearly Clinch, Texas’ Voter Law, Smart Guns, and The Textalyzer”

  1. I enjoy this podcast, have been tuned in for several months, and for the first time got fired up enough to seek out the website to leave a comment. Texas voter laws. If the state has done has Jay said with every effort to make registration w/ ID doable, then it’s nothing more than trying to keep everyone’s vote legal. To call this political is, frankly, insulting, Michael. We can turn it around and say you endorse possible illegal voting because they will likely vote your way. Equally insulting, right? We simply want it fair and legal. If I feel any bias, it’s against UNINFORMED voters who, if they cannot find their way through any one of the simple, free, legal channels provided them to vote, they likely know little about the issues and candidates as well. As a heavily taxed, law-abiding citizen, I don’t mind saying I’m fine if those people can’t find their way to a ballet. That said, I’m off to iTunes to leave my comment, which will be positive. Keep it up, guys.

    1. Thanks so much for commenting – it’s always great to hear from listeners! (And thanks also for that iTunes review.) I understand how my argument could be insulting to those Republicans who are only concerned about all votes being legal. And I have no doubt that many Republicans are concerned with only that. But I also believe that for plenty of other Republicans – and Democrats – *everything* is at least somewhat political. Were things reversed, I have no doubt that my Democrats would be making the same arguments that Jay’s Republicans are currently making.

  2. In PG51, Mr. Jay repeatedly stated that any voter can vote by mail in Texas. That information is inaccurate. Voting by mail is permitted ONLY in a few specific circumstances such as if the eligible voter is elderly, disabled, physically out of the county during early voting and on election day or confined in jail. (http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/reqabbm.shtml)
    Although I’m willing to assume it was a simple error made in good faith, it should be corrected now. I hope The PGs will add a brief correction to the website description of this episode because it is important to get the basic facts straight, both to Texas voters who might rely on your information and for all listeners’ understanding.

    Also, a surprisingly large number of eligible voters who do not have a birth certificate are unable to obtain one because they were born at home in the USA when birth certificates were not routinely issued for home births (e.g., the 1920s). Hence, these individuals would never be able to obtain the photo identification required to vote in person. Perhaps like our hosts and many lawmakers today, I have been insulated from this harsh reality because I was born in a hospital more recently; I’ve always had a birth certificate that allowed me to get ID.

    Written from Houston, Texas.

Leave a Reply