Constitutionally Speaking with Dave Shestokas debuts Saturday on WGUF 98.9 FM
Join Dave Shestokas and his guests Saturdays at 3 pm on WGUF 98.9 FM or the online live stream for Constitutionally Speaking. Be part of the constitutional conversation in exploring the origins, values and meaning of our Constitution.
What’s the United States’ source of authority?
What is the source of our rights?
What are the First Amendment’s five rights?
Why are warnings read to suspects called “Miranda Warnings”?
Who are “We the People”?
Why are “powers separated”?
What does being “for the Constitution” mean?
Talk it over Saturdays at 3 PM EST on WGUF 98.9 in SWFL or the online live stream.
About Constitutionally Speaking
In August, 2008, Dave Shestokas started writing for an online magazine. Among the legal subjects addressed was the criminal justice system. Comments on a piece about police searches of automobiles, involving search and seizure issues and the Bill of Rights’ 4th Amendment made it clear that many Americans did not have a deep understanding of their rights or their Constitution.
Dave’s writing became devoted to writing about the source and origin of the Constitution from the Preamble to the 27th Amendment. The goal was to convey the Constitution’s essence in a non-lawyerly way. A frequent editor was his mom (she’s now 83). The thinking was if the writing made sense to her, it would make sense to others.
That’s only to say it’s often a challenge for an attorney to write like a non-lawyer. Like any other line of work the law has its own language. Most folks need a translation when a mechanic talks about issues with their car. Most of us would communicate better if we envisioned our Mom as our audience. Mom will tell you something isn’t clear. Most others won’t and likely will just stop paying attention. When Dave needs to get away from legal jargon, his Mom lets him know.
The online readership grew to over 25,000 monthly, demonstrating a desire for constitutional knowledge that is not part of most Americans’ standard education. A Facebook group grew to over 3,000 members and Dave’s Twitter following exceeded 30,000. In October, 2012, the Constitutional Education and Legal News website was launched. Since that time there have been more than 250,000 visits to the site.
With that background, Constitutionally Speaking is now on WGUF and streaming worldwide on the internet. The program’s goal is the same as the website: to bring the Constitution alive and explain the origins, purposes and philosophy of the document. While these days many Americans either yell at or talk past one another, they should have common ground in the Constitution. After all, philosophy does matter.