WEBVTT - How Habeas Corpus Works

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<v Speaker 1>Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera.

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<v Speaker 1>It's ready. Are you welcome to Stuff you Should Know

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<v Speaker 1>from House Stuff Works dot Com? Hey, and welcome to

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<v Speaker 1>the podcast. Welcome to the Stuff you Should Know. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Josh say Hi, Chuck. Hi. How's it coming? Chuck? Uh? Great?

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<v Speaker 1>A little cold, but other than that fun fun, well, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>you know what it's It's supposed to get really really

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<v Speaker 1>cold this January, which is a significant day. You heard

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<v Speaker 1>about that in this segway. That's a good one. Thanks.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that the inauguration? Yes, it is, and they're expecting

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<v Speaker 1>up to maybe four million people and worst case scenario

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<v Speaker 1>they're talking is thirty thirty one degrees in raining. Everything

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<v Speaker 1>will be icy and frozen, and there's gonna be old,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, old people dying left and right, basically children

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<v Speaker 1>exactly in peril. Yeah. Um, so it'll probably be the

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<v Speaker 1>if that happens, the most the most death fraught inauguration

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<v Speaker 1>of all time. And there's been some pretty bloody ones. Really,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know. Okay, no, I'm not sure, but um

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<v Speaker 1>I I personally am looking forward to the inauguration. Um because,

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<v Speaker 1>as I understand it, Barack Obama. We've heard of him,

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<v Speaker 1>president our next president. Yes, um, he is planning on

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<v Speaker 1>restoring a part of the constitution that was shaved off

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of years ago. Well, thing called habeas corpus. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>you've heard of this, I have. It is a Latin term.

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<v Speaker 1>And you said you took Latin in high school. No, No,

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<v Speaker 1>I took German? Did you? You just continue to surprise

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<v Speaker 1>and amaze me. I seemed like a Spanish guy, don't I.

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<v Speaker 1>I would have definitely said Spanish. I wish I had

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<v Speaker 1>taken Spanish it with I would be better now for it.

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<v Speaker 1>But although you could definitely get yourself a desk job

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<v Speaker 1>at how stuff works, Frankfurt? Is there how the works?

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<v Speaker 1>Frank okay? I I mentioned to create one for you though,

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<v Speaker 1>if you lobbied for it enough. Uh So. Habeas corpus

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<v Speaker 1>is Latin and it means, uh, you have the body.

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<v Speaker 1>And essentially what it is is that it's a legal

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<v Speaker 1>term that that it's kind of in order from a

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<v Speaker 1>judge to a jailer saying you have the body, bring

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<v Speaker 1>him to me so we can figure out if he's

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<v Speaker 1>being in prison legally or not. Right. I've heard this

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<v Speaker 1>term a lot I'm glad we're doing this because I

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<v Speaker 1>never you know, it's one of those terms that everyone's

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<v Speaker 1>probably heard of but doesn't know a lot about. So yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>there's a lot to it. Basically, what Habeas corpus does

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<v Speaker 1>is we have a set of um guarantees in the

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<v Speaker 1>Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Actually, if you really

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<v Speaker 1>take a look at the Bill of Rights, you know

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<v Speaker 1>the Framer's top ten great protections that that that list,

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<v Speaker 1>Um they most of it has to do with being prosecuted, right, um,

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<v Speaker 1>you know thinks so in taking all together, it's called

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<v Speaker 1>due process. So you have a right to confront your accusers,

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<v Speaker 1>you have a right to counsel, speedy trial. Speedy trial

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<v Speaker 1>is a big one. Fair trial, fair trial, huge. But

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<v Speaker 1>the thing is is, you know, the these things can

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<v Speaker 1>be guaranteed to you and I all day long, but

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<v Speaker 1>they don't amount to anything if we don't have any

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<v Speaker 1>action to take to ensure that they're actually being carried out,

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<v Speaker 1>that the the these guarantees are are being delivered on.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's what Habeas corpus is. It's it's that mechanism

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<v Speaker 1>by which these constitutional protections are you know, guaranteed. That's

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<v Speaker 1>a great thanks a lot. Well that's it for today. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>if that's all for me, folks, well, don't put this

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<v Speaker 1>on me, because there's a lot to come. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>want me to carry the corpus part? Okay? So, um,

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<v Speaker 1>it's not this is not a new concept. It it

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<v Speaker 1>actually dates back before the Framers, uh created the constitution

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<v Speaker 1>and ratified in nine goes back to England. Correct, it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's English common law in the in the seventeenth century.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're a Catholic like I was raised, you would

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<v Speaker 1>be in grave danger of being picked up by the

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<v Speaker 1>king'sman and throne in jail. Because this is a time

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<v Speaker 1>when I believe it was King Henry, one of the kings.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, there's just so many of them I can't

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<v Speaker 1>keep them straight in Um, he when whoever was king,

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<v Speaker 1>had had established the Church of England, and uh, you

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<v Speaker 1>know that was the big rival to the Catholic Church.

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<v Speaker 1>So he wanted a state sponsored, state run church and

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<v Speaker 1>didn't really want any competition. So if you're a Catholic,

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<v Speaker 1>you were probably going to be in prison and heldon,

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<v Speaker 1>not given a trial or anything like that nod process.

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<v Speaker 1>So Parliament came up with this this protection and actually

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<v Speaker 1>it made date back further than that. Some people say

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<v Speaker 1>that it's it's kind of implied by the Magna Carta,

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<v Speaker 1>which was twelve fifteen at running med It's a long

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<v Speaker 1>long time ago, it is, um. But it it actually

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<v Speaker 1>became codified as habeas corpus in in the seventeenth century England,

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<v Speaker 1>and then the framers picked it up and it's in

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<v Speaker 1>the constitution. It's a huge right, you know. UM. And

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<v Speaker 1>in American practice, if you have habeas corpus, the process

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<v Speaker 1>goes like this, you're tried or you're jailed. Even you

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<v Speaker 1>can say you're jailed. Most of the time you've already

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<v Speaker 1>been tried and now you've been convicted and incarcerated. And

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<v Speaker 1>a writ of habeas corpus can actually be a legal

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<v Speaker 1>strategy where after all of your appeals run out, you

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<v Speaker 1>can use it. You can issue a petition of habeas

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<v Speaker 1>corpus and you're saying, hey, judge, you know I don't

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<v Speaker 1>think at my trial I was given a fair trial.

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<v Speaker 1>Say you know my counselor was inadequate, Um, he was

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<v Speaker 1>drunk all the time. That kind of thing, or the

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<v Speaker 1>prosecution like hid you know, important evidence that would have

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<v Speaker 1>exonerated you you can, you can issue this in a

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<v Speaker 1>petition of habeas corpus. Judge considers that if the judge

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<v Speaker 1>decides that you know, it raises enough questions about the

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<v Speaker 1>legality of your imprisonment, you will well, no, it's not

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<v Speaker 1>another trial, it's a hearing and actually no habeas corpus.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not a rehash of your actual trial. So it's

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<v Speaker 1>not an appeal at all, not really, but it's it

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<v Speaker 1>kind of falls in step with the appeal process. It's

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<v Speaker 1>so what happened as far as you know, you murdered

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<v Speaker 1>somebody or that's what you're accused of. The judge and

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<v Speaker 1>the habeas corpus hearing, it doesn't care about that. What

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<v Speaker 1>they care about is evidence that shows that you're you know,

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<v Speaker 1>your defense attorney was drunk, that kind of thing. Sure,

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<v Speaker 1>I get it. And the So these things also tend

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<v Speaker 1>to as a legal strategy, tended to come in a flurry.

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<v Speaker 1>Would say, like a prosecutor is found to have been,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, um, a cocaine user, and it comes out,

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<v Speaker 1>so everyone that person prosecuted all of a sudden lines

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<v Speaker 1>up there rid of habeas corp They they start sending

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<v Speaker 1>out petitions of habeas corporate your corpy. I guess the

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<v Speaker 1>petition is first, and then and then if the judge

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<v Speaker 1>thinks that it's worth hearing the judge issues are rid

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<v Speaker 1>of habeas corpus bring the body to me. Uh and

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<v Speaker 1>and that's that's pretty much how it's used. But you

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<v Speaker 1>can actually, um, you can contest your in car reseration,

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<v Speaker 1>I believe, at any point, but using it as a

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<v Speaker 1>as a legal strategy, that's usually how it's used. It's

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<v Speaker 1>kind of depressing. I think if I were a prisoner,

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<v Speaker 1>just being referred to as the body is I don't know,

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<v Speaker 1>that would worry me immediately. Yeah, and corpus sounds a

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<v Speaker 1>lot like corpse. Like I said, I didn't take Latin,

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<v Speaker 1>but I have a feeling those two are probably connected, right.

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<v Speaker 1>I thought you said you did take Latin German German? Really?

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<v Speaker 1>Um yeah, I think though being referred to as the body,

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<v Speaker 1>I would be much more um, concerned with the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that I was in prison. You know, at that point

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<v Speaker 1>you're probably already used to being called the body or

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<v Speaker 1>the booty or something horrible, and you know, being those

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<v Speaker 1>those those names being made good on, right, you have

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<v Speaker 1>your prior recent line exactly. Yeah, So check. Um, we

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<v Speaker 1>we understand Habeas corpus kind of get an impression of

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<v Speaker 1>why it's important. Now, it's it keeps us from being

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<v Speaker 1>thrown into jail and the key being thrown away. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>it's our one recourse because really think about it, the system,

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<v Speaker 1>it is this entity that stands between the state which

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<v Speaker 1>has the power to throw you in jail, and the

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<v Speaker 1>individual which can be thrown in jail. The whole purpose

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<v Speaker 1>of the court system, the legal system, is to find

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<v Speaker 1>out whether or not this person should be incarcerated or

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<v Speaker 1>punished guilt or innocence. Um. So, the it's kind of insinuated.

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<v Speaker 1>It's placed in between the state and the individual, um too,

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<v Speaker 1>as a buffer, as a protection as much as it

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<v Speaker 1>is you know, the the judge and jury that can

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<v Speaker 1>and exec executioner cases. Right. Okay, So so now we

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<v Speaker 1>understand how important it is, which kind of gives us

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<v Speaker 1>an idea then of how egregious the Military Commission's Act

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<v Speaker 1>of two thousand six was. Right. Well, let's back up

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<v Speaker 1>a little, because let's do it. This is not the

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<v Speaker 1>first time the Military Act of two thousand six, Commissions

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<v Speaker 1>Act that Habeas corpus has been revoked. Oh oh, that

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<v Speaker 1>was one other thing we should probably say, hunch chuck.

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<v Speaker 1>In the Bill of Rights, it actually specifically mentions habeas

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<v Speaker 1>corpus it's actually thinking the Constitution. It says the only

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<v Speaker 1>time that habeas corpus can be suspended, suspended is in

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<v Speaker 1>times of insurrection or rebellion, when it's when it serves

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<v Speaker 1>the public safety can be the only time it can

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<v Speaker 1>be suspended. Not that he opens it up to some

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<v Speaker 1>interpretation obviously, you know what it shouldn't because it's so explicit.

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<v Speaker 1>But yes, sadly, over the course of American history has

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<v Speaker 1>been interpreted in my in my opinion, incorrectly. So, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>you were saying, you give us some examples. Well, one

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<v Speaker 1>example is during the Civil War President Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln

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<v Speaker 1>suspended habeas corpus um when the Civil War broke out,

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<v Speaker 1>and uh, five years later it was reinstated at the

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<v Speaker 1>end of the Civil War and which insurrection rebellion. You

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<v Speaker 1>could make a pretty good case that he had every

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<v Speaker 1>constitutional right to do that Civil War for goodness sakex uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And then in sadly, one of our black eyes I

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<v Speaker 1>guess on our nation's history was the internment of Japanese

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<v Speaker 1>Americans during World War two, and the same thing happened.

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<v Speaker 1>Then more than a hundred thousand Japanese Americans were detained

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<v Speaker 1>and held um, many of them American born citizens. So yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, think about how screwed up that is. That

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<v Speaker 1>would be like after nine eleven if we had um

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<v Speaker 1>had round up every Muslim, every Muslim, not even Muslim,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, because that would be based on religion. This

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<v Speaker 1>is based on a nationality. So let's say we we

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<v Speaker 1>rounded up every Saudi American and put them into soccer

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<v Speaker 1>stadiums that we had, you know, reinforced with concertina wire

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<v Speaker 1>and fences and German shepherds just because they were Staudias.

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<v Speaker 1>This happened like sixty years ago, not so long ago,

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<v Speaker 1>so very good friend of Syrian, I can't imagine a

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<v Speaker 1>world where we would do something like that. Yeah, well,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a good thing you weren't alive and ninety forty two,

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<v Speaker 1>my friend, because you would have wept tears and the

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<v Speaker 1>most ironic orup I guess not that words not appropriate.

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<v Speaker 1>But the most surprising part of the revocation of Habeas

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<v Speaker 1>corpus in nineteen forty two for Japanese Americans was that

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<v Speaker 1>it took uh until nineteen seventy six, Jerry Ford. Gerald

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<v Speaker 1>Ford finally issued an executive order that reinstated the rid

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<v Speaker 1>of habeas corpus or the right of habeas corpus to

0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:34.280
<v Speaker 1>Japanese Americans. So, for that that thirty plus year period,

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<v Speaker 1>if you were a Japanese American, technically they could throw

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<v Speaker 1>you in jail for whatever and you couldn't uh contest

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<v Speaker 1>the legality of your incarceration, which is scary, it is.

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<v Speaker 1>I wonder if that happened. I don't know, that's a

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<v Speaker 1>great question. I have a feeling it was probably just

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<v Speaker 1>not acted on, and no one really thought much about

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<v Speaker 1>it until gerald Ford popped up on his radar somehow. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>I wonder how you forget something like that, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>Roosevelt just forgot to pass it along, you know, Hey, Truman,

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<v Speaker 1>don't I guarantee Japanese Americans probably didn't forget. Yeah, I

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't think so. So now we're up to the modern

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<v Speaker 1>day time. So the Military Commissions Act two thousand six.

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<v Speaker 1>You remember Mark Foley, yes, Florida representative, I think so

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<v Speaker 1>okay um, And he had a little the email tryst

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<v Speaker 1>with one of his male aids. His pages, little man

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<v Speaker 1>boy I think he was like seventeen or eighteen. That

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<v Speaker 1>story happened the it broke coincidentally, the same time, Congress

0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:41.600
<v Speaker 1>passed the Military Commissions Acted two thousand six, which allowed

0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:43.960
<v Speaker 1>it to kind of go into the radar exactly. It

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<v Speaker 1>was this huge sweeping act. Really, although it succinct, it

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<v Speaker 1>really had huge repercussions, and it was basically aimed at

0:12:53.800 --> 0:12:58.640
<v Speaker 1>terror suspects um and as far as Habeas corpus goes,

0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:02.880
<v Speaker 1>it related to it related to that right by revoking

0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:06.440
<v Speaker 1>it for anyone deemed an enemy combatant, which once again

0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:09.199
<v Speaker 1>they leave it nice and vague exactly. And they also

0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:11.880
<v Speaker 1>said that the President and Congress and a few other

0:13:11.960 --> 0:13:15.120
<v Speaker 1>high officials can deem whoever they want enemy combatant and

0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:17.800
<v Speaker 1>that can't be contested in Once you're deemed an enemy combatant,

0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:21.600
<v Speaker 1>you are stripped of your right of habeas corpus, which

0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:24.120
<v Speaker 1>means that's why that's how all these people down at

0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:28.440
<v Speaker 1>Guantanamo Bay were kept. And definitely uh and the this

0:13:28.559 --> 0:13:32.640
<v Speaker 1>Military Commissions Act, it's so cynical. It was passed after

0:13:33.200 --> 0:13:36.800
<v Speaker 1>the Supreme Court had ruled that these people were being

0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:40.440
<v Speaker 1>held there illegally in in flying in the face of

0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:44.400
<v Speaker 1>the Geneva Convention. So Bush had, you know, Congress passed

0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:49.360
<v Speaker 1>this federal law that basically overturned that Supreme Court ruling.

0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:52.480
<v Speaker 1>It's nuts. So all these people are being held there's

0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:55.199
<v Speaker 1>enemy combatants, and you think, you know, it's who cares

0:13:55.200 --> 0:13:58.720
<v Speaker 1>they're terrorists. The problem is is there were plenty of

0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:03.400
<v Speaker 1>um of his down there where people were released because

0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:05.000
<v Speaker 1>they've been picked up just because they had the same

0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:10.520
<v Speaker 1>name as a terror. UM. There is a guy whose

0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:15.640
<v Speaker 1>name was maher Are I believe that's the pronunciation, you know,

0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:20.920
<v Speaker 1>I butcher foreign names. He especially Mr r r Uh.

0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:25.440
<v Speaker 1>He was a Syrian born Canadian national. He's a naturalized

0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:30.280
<v Speaker 1>citizen computer engineer. And he popped up on the Canadian

0:14:30.760 --> 0:14:35.600
<v Speaker 1>Mounted Police's intelligence watch list in two thousand two. UM,

0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:39.280
<v Speaker 1>and they alerted the US authorities and some other you know,

0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:41.920
<v Speaker 1>friendly nations that this guy was on their list and

0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:45.160
<v Speaker 1>that he left the country. He went to Tunisia, all right,

0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:48.560
<v Speaker 1>and on his way back to to Canada, his home,

0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:52.840
<v Speaker 1>he had a layover at JFK in New York and

0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:57.760
<v Speaker 1>he was picked up by federal authorities. US officials and

0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:01.960
<v Speaker 1>they secretly rendered to Syria, where he was kept in

0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:05.400
<v Speaker 1>a prison and tortured for a year before the Syrians,

0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:09.160
<v Speaker 1>who we outsourced the tortured two you remember, um, concluded

0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:12.240
<v Speaker 1>that he wasn't a terrorist and had no ties of terrorism.

0:15:12.640 --> 0:15:16.360
<v Speaker 1>The the Syrians were the ones who decided that the

0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:20.240
<v Speaker 1>U S couldn't even figure it out. But after your tortured,

0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:24.680
<v Speaker 1>luckily for Mr ar, the Syrians concluded that he wasn't

0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:27.280
<v Speaker 1>a terrorist and set him free. Now that Canada get involved,

0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:29.680
<v Speaker 1>I would think that they was, Yes, Canada is in

0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:33.000
<v Speaker 1>big trouble, but really the US is in bigger trouble,

0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:36.000
<v Speaker 1>um or was? I think it's been swept under the

0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:41.760
<v Speaker 1>carpet by now. Um. But the US officials told the

0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:44.480
<v Speaker 1>Canadians that they were going to send him back to

0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:48.120
<v Speaker 1>Switzerland because he went from Tunisia to Switzerland, and that

0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:50.640
<v Speaker 1>they the U S said, hey, thanks a lot for

0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:52.920
<v Speaker 1>telling us. We're just gonna grab him and send him

0:15:52.920 --> 0:15:54.840
<v Speaker 1>back to Switzerland. We don't want him in the country,

0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:58.040
<v Speaker 1>and what you don't really want him either, right, And

0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:00.440
<v Speaker 1>they put him on a plane to Jordan, took overland

0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:03.360
<v Speaker 1>of Syria, gave him to the Syrians to be tortured

0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:05.600
<v Speaker 1>find out what he knew. I think one point, do

0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:09.000
<v Speaker 1>you make in the article is it was a retroactive act,

0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:11.560
<v Speaker 1>so it was passing two thousand six. This guy was

0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:13.920
<v Speaker 1>picked up when two thousand two. Yes, so it was

0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:19.360
<v Speaker 1>a retroactive act, meaning anyone picked up after September. Yeah,

0:16:19.360 --> 0:16:21.400
<v Speaker 1>I had no habeas corpus right. And it also gave

0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:24.760
<v Speaker 1>retroactive immunity all the way back to September eleven one.

0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:28.000
<v Speaker 1>Any US official who was engaged in anything that can

0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:30.880
<v Speaker 1>be construed as torture or illegal as far as it

0:16:30.960 --> 0:16:33.440
<v Speaker 1>was fell under the umbrella of the War on Terror,

0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:36.560
<v Speaker 1>which is beyond screwed up. So we still have this

0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:40.280
<v Speaker 1>act today, it's still on the books, um, and it's

0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:45.880
<v Speaker 1>still a huge bone of contention. And hopefully, from what

0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:48.520
<v Speaker 1>I understand, when Obama comes back into or when he

0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:53.640
<v Speaker 1>comes into office, he's going to basically repeal the Military

0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:58.240
<v Speaker 1>Commissions Act. He's going to hopefully get it repealed, and um,

0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:01.160
<v Speaker 1>he's going to come up with a new lead system

0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:06.200
<v Speaker 1>that's design just to prosecute high level, high value terror

0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:10.359
<v Speaker 1>suspects in the US. So basically it's gonna let a

0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:12.640
<v Speaker 1>bunch of them go, then he's gonna send them back

0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:16.400
<v Speaker 1>to their country of origin for prosecution. Incarceration or freedom.

0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:19.879
<v Speaker 1>I don't know. Uh, the low level ones they're just

0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:22.880
<v Speaker 1>gonna prosecute in regular American courts. Then the high level

0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:26.160
<v Speaker 1>ones are gonna be a more secret court um where

0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:29.160
<v Speaker 1>they get all the aspects of due process, but it's

0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:32.280
<v Speaker 1>not as transparent. So you know, you they won't be

0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:35.320
<v Speaker 1>able if their accusers a CIA informant, they won't be

0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:37.840
<v Speaker 1>able to face that accusers. Sorry, t s you know,

0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:41.640
<v Speaker 1>but there's still evidence is going to be submitted. Um. Oh.

0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:46.680
<v Speaker 1>Another thing about the Military Commission's Act, testimony uh gathered

0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:50.919
<v Speaker 1>from torture was actually admissible. Really yeah, so if you

0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:54.000
<v Speaker 1>if you tortured somebody and they confessed to being a

0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:58.160
<v Speaker 1>terrorist to get you to stop, Oh well there's your confession. Amazing.

0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:02.200
<v Speaker 1>And you know, this isn't a liberal Democrat thing, it's

0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:04.840
<v Speaker 1>a human rights thing. So definitely we should just point

0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:07.919
<v Speaker 1>that out that it's not like uh President elect Obama

0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:09.719
<v Speaker 1>just wants to set terrorists free all over the all

0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:12.000
<v Speaker 1>over the world or anything. No, definitely not. And he's

0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.719
<v Speaker 1>he's actually he's also getting criticism from both sides too, like,

0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:18.480
<v Speaker 1>you know, should we set up a legal a new

0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:21.000
<v Speaker 1>legal system just for this, you know, the A. C.

0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:23.600
<v Speaker 1>L Use criticizing the plan just as much as Republicans

0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:27.280
<v Speaker 1>are criticizing him for shutting down Guantanamo. But yeah, I

0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:30.040
<v Speaker 1>agree with you wholeheartedly. It is a human rights issue,

0:18:30.560 --> 0:18:33.359
<v Speaker 1>and um, I'm glad to see that it's going to

0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:36.440
<v Speaker 1>be resolved. I very strongly believe it's going to be resolved,

0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:38.880
<v Speaker 1>to let's hope. Yeah. The worst part is is that,

0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:41.320
<v Speaker 1>you know, America is going to spend the next twenty

0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:45.320
<v Speaker 1>years trying to um regain our our our image or

0:18:45.720 --> 0:18:50.080
<v Speaker 1>our standards, you know. Um. And then by about that time,

0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.119
<v Speaker 1>that's when all those horrendous documents are going to come

0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:55.719
<v Speaker 1>out of everything that went down in Guantanamo. It's just

0:18:56.280 --> 0:19:00.480
<v Speaker 1>that second jab to the eye. Yeah. Yeah, So, uh,

0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:03.080
<v Speaker 1>let's hope as corpus ladies and gentlemen look for one

0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:05.720
<v Speaker 1>time am obey to go the way of disco, hopefully

0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:08.760
<v Speaker 1>in the next several months. And uh, you know what

0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:11.520
<v Speaker 1>time it is now, don't you check? I think so?

0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:17.760
<v Speaker 1>I think it's reader mail time, listener mail. Uh. So,

0:19:17.920 --> 0:19:21.800
<v Speaker 1>I've got a little Thanksgiving episode love from some folks.

0:19:22.080 --> 0:19:24.919
<v Speaker 1>Sweet and if you recall, during the Thanksgiving episode, I

0:19:25.280 --> 0:19:27.040
<v Speaker 1>made I put the call out to the stuff. You

0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:30.520
<v Speaker 1>should know nation that if anyone out there is not

0:19:30.560 --> 0:19:33.800
<v Speaker 1>a vegetarian and they forego the turkey for let's say, steak,

0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:36.360
<v Speaker 1>then I would love to hear from them. Let's let's

0:19:36.359 --> 0:19:40.480
<v Speaker 1>play the Colick show. Yeah. Uh, of Americans now eat

0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:43.320
<v Speaker 1>turkey on Thanksgiving, and I would imagine the tim percent

0:19:43.400 --> 0:19:46.560
<v Speaker 1>who don't. A lot of those are probably vegetarian. I

0:19:46.600 --> 0:19:49.879
<v Speaker 1>can't imagine you would choose another meat if you're not

0:19:49.920 --> 0:19:53.000
<v Speaker 1>a vegetarian other than turkey. You have to be some

0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:55.159
<v Speaker 1>sort of communists. Yeah. If we have listeners out there

0:19:55.200 --> 0:19:57.719
<v Speaker 1>who do, who are not vegetarian and who opt for

0:19:57.840 --> 0:20:01.399
<v Speaker 1>steak on Thanksgiving, I'd love to hear from you. Okay,

0:20:01.440 --> 0:20:03.879
<v Speaker 1>so yet you said it, So there we have it.

0:20:03.960 --> 0:20:06.040
<v Speaker 1>So we actually heard from a few folks. We heard

0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:09.520
<v Speaker 1>from Chris Ent. That's Ian T. Hope. I'm pronouncing that right.

0:20:09.600 --> 0:20:13.000
<v Speaker 1>Chris Um. He married a lovely lady from Tokyo and

0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:15.600
<v Speaker 1>he has a tradition that Josh and I we want

0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:18.280
<v Speaker 1>to be invited over next year, Mr, and we would

0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:21.680
<v Speaker 1>gladly accept any invitation you extended. Right, I would forego

0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:23.920
<v Speaker 1>the turkey because what they do, Uh, the wife doesn't

0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:27.480
<v Speaker 1>like the turkey flavor. This is a this is at uh.

0:20:27.640 --> 0:20:30.080
<v Speaker 1>So what he does is he buys an entire New

0:20:30.160 --> 0:20:33.000
<v Speaker 1>York strip which is about ten pounds of beef, and

0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:36.720
<v Speaker 1>he cuts it up into humongous inch and a quarter steaks,

0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:39.240
<v Speaker 1>and then on Thanksgiving he cooks them up on the

0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:44.399
<v Speaker 1>grill with pear wood and actual wood charcoal, and he

0:20:44.480 --> 0:20:48.960
<v Speaker 1>smokes a salmon. Well, he says, pear wood and actual

0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:51.720
<v Speaker 1>wood charcoal. I'm just reading, uh, And he smokes a

0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:55.119
<v Speaker 1>wild salmon and the smoke. So they have smoked salmon

0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:58.359
<v Speaker 1>and h wood fire grilled steaks and that's what they

0:20:58.359 --> 0:21:01.280
<v Speaker 1>have for the leftover. Said fantastic again, Mr, And you

0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:04.280
<v Speaker 1>know we will be giving you well, actually you already

0:21:04.320 --> 0:21:07.720
<v Speaker 1>know our email. It's a stuff podcast that how stuff

0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:10.159
<v Speaker 1>works out constantly. Just send us those invitations along, right,

0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:12.440
<v Speaker 1>I've got a couple of more to him too quickly.

0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:17.119
<v Speaker 1>Chris Corby responded that his family eats chicken a capon specifically,

0:21:17.200 --> 0:21:21.439
<v Speaker 1>which I looked it up. It's a large castrated rooster, yeah,

0:21:21.480 --> 0:21:23.800
<v Speaker 1>he says, I think it's a big chicken. I noticed that,

0:21:23.920 --> 0:21:26.520
<v Speaker 1>and hate I hate to tell you, but that's just

0:21:26.640 --> 0:21:28.480
<v Speaker 1>so it's sort of like a chicken and it's like

0:21:28.480 --> 0:21:30.399
<v Speaker 1>a turkey is as big as a turkey. Turkey with

0:21:30.400 --> 0:21:34.320
<v Speaker 1>a falsetto voice right uh. And then we heard from

0:21:34.480 --> 0:21:38.000
<v Speaker 1>Travis Ilig, who is a not a vegetarian. He hates turkey,

0:21:38.720 --> 0:21:40.639
<v Speaker 1>even though his whole family loves it, he doesn't like

0:21:40.720 --> 0:21:43.840
<v Speaker 1>the flavor and he said that makes Thanksgiving his least

0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:47.360
<v Speaker 1>favorite holiday, which is very sad because he grew up

0:21:47.400 --> 0:21:51.920
<v Speaker 1>eating potatoes and rolls uh and having to answer questions

0:21:51.920 --> 0:21:54.600
<v Speaker 1>about why he doesn't like turkey every year. So now

0:21:54.680 --> 0:21:58.480
<v Speaker 1>he's done everything from bringing his own Chinese food, pizza

0:21:58.560 --> 0:22:01.520
<v Speaker 1>and lobster. I would go for the lot yeah, and

0:22:01.680 --> 0:22:04.280
<v Speaker 1>uh dining with the family or he said, the last

0:22:04.280 --> 0:22:06.760
<v Speaker 1>few years they've gone to a Thanksgiving buffet so they

0:22:06.760 --> 0:22:09.400
<v Speaker 1>can have their turkey. He can have his uh spaghetti

0:22:09.480 --> 0:22:12.000
<v Speaker 1>wherever he wants. What's that last guy's name, Travis ill.

0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:15.480
<v Speaker 1>I think Travis has the saddest story out of the three,

0:22:15.600 --> 0:22:18.240
<v Speaker 1>and I think just for that he deserves a how

0:22:18.280 --> 0:22:21.000
<v Speaker 1>Stuff Works t shirt. Travis, if you want to send

0:22:21.080 --> 0:22:24.360
<v Speaker 1>us your name and address to Stuffed podcast at how

0:22:24.440 --> 0:22:27.800
<v Speaker 1>stuff works dot com, we will gladly pass that along

0:22:27.840 --> 0:22:29.560
<v Speaker 1>to you and you can wear it happily while you

0:22:29.640 --> 0:22:32.840
<v Speaker 1>sadly eat your spaghetti on Thanksgiving. Anybody else who wants

0:22:32.840 --> 0:22:35.720
<v Speaker 1>to drop us a line let us know something we

0:22:35.840 --> 0:22:38.000
<v Speaker 1>screwed up in this podcast, which I'm quite sure we

0:22:38.040 --> 0:22:46.679
<v Speaker 1>did again. It's stuff Podcast at how stuff works dot com.

0:22:46.720 --> 0:22:49.120
<v Speaker 1>For more on this and thousands of other topics. Does

0:22:49.160 --> 0:22:54.080
<v Speaker 1>it how stuff works dot com. Brought to you by

0:22:54.080 --> 0:22:57.560
<v Speaker 1>the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray. It's ready, are you