No Warrant Needed, Contempt for the Clintons, Antitrust, and More
Main Discussion Topics
Administrative Warrants for Immigration Enforcement
Memo went out in May allowing federal immigration officers to use administrative warrants instead of judge-signed warrants
Administrative warrants have far narrower scope and require much less proof
Represents potential Fourth Amendment violations
Jim Valliant reportedly believes courts will overrule this policy
Michael read the Fourth Amendment: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches, and seizures shall not be violated and no warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, in particularly describing the place to be searched and the person or things to be seized."
Michael characterized the development: "This is just one more shot at the civil liberties of the people here."
Government justification: states not honoring detainers on illegal immigrants already in court system with holds
ICE claims states release people with detainers, forcing street enforcement
ICE requiring extra agents for protection against public pushback
Mark questioned the justification: "It seems like a great deal more to me than that."
Constitutional Protections for All Persons
Discussion of whether non-citizens deserve Fourth Amendment protections
Mark's position: anyone in US legally or illegally falls under Bill of Rights protections
Mark argued: "Any person who comes into the United States of America legally or illegally now, and I think you don't need permission to travel, if you are a peaceful person who creates value, you do not need the permission of a government to travel. That should be an individual right. But let's say you're in this country, one way or the other, you fall under the protections of the Bill of Rights. That means the Fourth Amendment protects you as well."
Mark emphasized universality: "I don't think non-citizens should have a different set of rules that they go by than the citizen. I don't think the citizen has extra protections. I think everybody, the beauty of the American system and of Americanism is that it's universal. It's applied to everybody. It's with respect to individual rights, which everyone possesses. That's what the government is supposed to protect."
Immigration Enforcement and Precedent Concerns
Michael's position on federal immigration law: believes it's unconstitutional but it's settled law
Concerns about ramped-up deportations not just targeting criminals
Discussion of reasonably foreseeable consequences of expanded enforcement
Michael explained: "I think that federal immigration law is unconstitutional. But it's settled law. It's a part of the fabric. So they, people that are carrying out deportations, it's been ruled constitutional. I mean, and that's what we have. I don't get to say what's constitutional, the Supreme Court does, and they've said it's constitutional, though I think it's wrong."
Michael on enforcement expansion: "I don't like the idea that they're also going after people who are not criminal threats in the country."
Michael on foreseeable consequences: "Once you do this and you make announcements about implementing the Insurrection Act, the Alien and Sedition Acts, that sort of thing, and you start doing that and your plan is to send ICE agents into cities and they're not just going after criminals, it's foreseeable that you're going to have this occur. It's much like when we talk about when you go to war, you may not know all the consequences, but you know there's gonna be unforeseen consequences."
Sanctuary City Policies
Ian Gilmore's comment on rational basis for sanctuary policies
Sanctuary policies encourage illegal aliens to cooperate with legal system on other crimes
Allows illegal aliens to report murders or provide testimony without deportation fear
Ian Gilmore explained (via chat): "Most people don't understand sanctuary policies. The rational basis for sanctuary is that we want people to cooperate with the legal system, even illegal aliens when it comes to other crimes. For example, you want illegal aliens to report murders or to come forward with testimony against criminals. But illegal aliens won't do that if they think they're going to get deported. So you use sanctuary policies to assure them that they won't get deported by non immigration cops."
Mark responded: "That makes a great deal of sense to me."
Michael agreed: "For the tough on crime people, you're deterring people from coming forward to report crimes."
Online Gullibility and Misinformation
Discussion of Facebook post claiming Trump "got us Greenland"
Michael's frustration with supporters believing false claims
Pattern of recycled, cropped video and AI-generated content presented as "proof"
Michael expressed frustration: "This morning I'm sitting around and I'm thinking about this. I woke up at two o'clock this morning, by the way, and could not get back to sleep. My mind is very, very active about a lot of this stuff that's going on. But then later on in the morning, I saw a post on Facebook and it said, the son of a bitch went and got us Greenland about Trump. Said he's, we've got Greenland and all the comments were all about, yeah, he's did it. And I asked in the comments section, the real question is why any of you believe this?"
Michael on the broader pattern: "I don't know if they're just misunderstanding what's been said. I don't know if they've got some whacked out news source that tells them this stuff. But it seems to me Mark a very big problem, and by the way, I have no idea how to get around this is the gullibility of the people that support this guy. I mean, they believe when he comes out and like every day I'll see stuff proof that the election in 2020 was stolen and it will be like cropped video AI, like stuff that's old and they recycle it."
Michael on challenging supporters: "It's very easy to just go on these rants on Facebook. It's much more difficult to actually be challenged one-on-one and have to defend those positions. I've yet to meet any of them that can."
Emotional Override of Reason
Mark's analysis of why Trump supporters ignore constitutional violations
Mark explained: "Their emotions are overriding their reason. I think they feel like for the first time in a long time, they have somebody who's fighting their fight against the real enemy who they perceive to be the left who's had cultural dominance for decades, upon decades. They feel the rush of being on top at the moment in the power world and they don't want to lose it. And so far as they are concerned, principles don't matter. It's just that they have a guy who's fighting for them."
Clinton Contempt Vote
House Oversight Committee voted to advance resolutions holding Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress
Measure pushed to full House for vote as soon as Monday, February 2nd
Clintons rebuffed subpoenas for months regarding interactions with Jeffrey Epstein
Clinton lawyer argues subpoena is illegal and doesn't serve legislative purpose
Clintons offered written statements instead, proposed interview in New York
House contempt vote could lead to Justice Department indictment
Bill Clinton documented taking four international trips on Epstein's Boeing 727 in 2002-2003
Trip stops included Bangkok, Brunei, Rwanda, Russia, and China
Michael's assessment: "This is clearly for show. It's just an attempt to embarrass the Clintons. At the same time, I mean, if you're given a congressional warrant, I think you have to attend. But then again, I mean, there might be legal stuff that I don't know about where you don't have to. I do know that Clintons are despicable liars. So who knows if what they're saying is true, but when it comes right down to it, mark, this is all political BS on the part of the Clintons, on the part of everybody involved. You can't trust any of them, and it just really makes me sick."
Mark on possible Clinton Foundation connections: "You have to wonder if any of these trips had anything to do with the Clinton Foundation. This is a foundation worth hundreds of millions of dollars. These are two people who have never really been in the private sector their entire lives, and yet they're worth a quarter of a billion dollars. You have to wonder where that comes from. They're with a guy who's sort of a mover and shaker in the financial world, in addition to being a pervert. And they're taking to places like Rwanda, Russia, and China. What are the things going on there besides the illicit sex trafficking of children? There's probably some shady financial shenanigans going on because that's what the Clintons are all about."
Michael on the Epstein topic generally: "The whole Epstein thing is not like something that occupies my mind at all. People say, oh, it's a coverup for all these pedophiles and stuff. I think, I don't know. I think there's more important things to discuss. I think that a lot of that shit was hyperbole. I ultimately don't know because we don't know much. But I know that whenever conspiracy theories start to surround things, I tend to just start doubting."
Federal Trade Commission vs Meta
FTC continuing crusade against Meta despite court ruling
Judge ruled Meta does not meet standard of monopoly
Meta has 30% market share, which court says doesn't constitute monopoly
FTC spending billions of taxpayer dollars on case
Mark on arbitrary monopoly standards: "I question their whole arbitrary concept of monopoly. I mean, they have these arbitrary ideas. Not even 68%, not even 52. They kept throwing out these arbitrary numbers."
Michael's assessment: "This just comes from people who think that government is the answer to everything in life. Government is not the answer to everything in life. They are the problem."
Mark on what capitalists would do: "Antitrust laws make anybody with a brain cringe, but particularly Objectivists. Rand talked about antitrust ages and ages and ages ago. A capitalist administration would do away with the Sherman Antitrust Act as quickly as possible."
Michael recommended reading: "Alan Greenspan's essay on antitrust is a must read. It's in Capitalism The Unknown Ideal. It's great. He talks about how it's completely arbitrary, how it leaves businessmen not knowing what to do and how they end up initiating force against peaceful people."
Political Will for Reform
Discussion of lack of political will to reduce government programs
Public pushback against any adjustment to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security
51% of Americans dependent on federal government for checks or subsidies
Mark on the challenge: "The question is, is there the political will, not only on political class, but on the part of the people to get rid of this stuff? Because anytime somebody comes into office with even the hint that they may start adjusting Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, they may increase the retirement age, all the stuff that they probably have to do to keep these programs solvent, as ridiculous as they are, they get massive pushback from a public. And if 51% of the people of the United States of America are in some way dependent on the federal government for either a check or a subsidy of some kind, where is the political will to get this stuff taken care of?"
Trump's Dictator Comment at Davos
Newsweek reported Trump saying "sometimes you need a dictator" at Davos CEO reception
Came out as stream of consciousness, appeared to be Freudian slip
Not the first time Trump has made such comments
Pattern of praising dictators and loving executive authority
Mark characterized it: "It came out as if it was like stream of consciousness. It slipped out like a Freudian slip out there into the universe. But it's not the first time he said it."
Michael's response: "He's praising dictators all the time. Not I should, let me not say all the time. He's repeatedly praised dictators. He loves executive authority, so that seems to be his thing. So I think you kind of have to take it seriously."
Contrast with Milton Friedman
Mark recalled Milton Friedman being asked what he would do as dictator for a day
Friedman's immediate response: "I wouldn't be"
Contrast with Trump entertaining the question seriously
Mark on what kind of candidate is needed: "That is somebody who you want as a candidate for the president, not somebody who entertains what they would do if they had unlimited power. It's the guy who says, I wouldn't be dictator. It's the guy like George Washington who gives up power."
Mark on George Washington: "King George III said, if he does in fact do this when they're offering him the Kingdom of America, he is the greatest man in history. And that is true. That is what a capitalist representative Republic looks like, folks. People who are in positions of political power don't want to wield it. They don't want it, but they do it because they understand that we need a system like this in order to thrive as human beings. We need a system that respects freedom and protects property in order to thrive."
Hillary Clinton's "I Just Want to Be President"
Mark referenced Hillary Clinton saying she just wanted to be president in 2016
Mark's position: anyone who wants the office should be disqualified
Mark stated: "Anybody who hears that should disqualify her immediately. It should disqualify her immediately. Anybody who wants the office, you should be out."
Lindsay Halligan Federal Judge Order
Trump-appointed federal judge ordered Lindsay Halligan to stop masquerading as US attorney
Halligan had no prosecutorial experience, a main qualifier for the position
Judge essentially concluded she was too incompetent to punish
Continued showing up to work even after being told she couldn't be prosecutor anymore
Compared to George Costanza from Seinfeld showing up to work after quitting
Michael on the judge's reasoning: "Basically he told her, you're so stupid that we're not gonna punish you for pretending to be a prosecutor."
Michael on her behavior: "Even after they told her she couldn't be a prosecutor anymore, because she wasn't supposed to be appointed to begin with, she kept going. They brought up Seinfeld and they said that it's like George Costanza showing up to work after he quit, like pretending nothing happened. And that's basically what she did."
Mark on Trump's approach: "This is primacy of consciousness all the way down the line, Michael. It's like Trump wants us to believe what he believes reality is. He wants a prosecutor in place so that he can carry out his retribution against these political enemies. Rules be damned. Law be damned. Constitution be damned. The way these appointments are actually supposed to be handled, be damned. He's gonna place somebody in there who's a crony of his and he's gonna get it done irrespective of what people think."
Mark on the absurdity: "The cojones on this administration to place people in power and to try to persecute their political enemies in this manner. I don't think Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin could come up with a funnier, more ridiculous buffoonish scenario."
Notable Quotes
Mark on Constitutional Protections: "Any person who comes into the United States of America legally or illegally now, and I think you don't need permission to travel, if you are a peaceful person who creates value, you do not need the permission of a government to travel. That should be an individual right. But let's say you're in this country, one way or the other, you fall under the protections of the Bill of Rights."
Mark on Universal Rights: "I don't think non-citizens should have a different set of rules that they go by than the citizen. I don't think the citizen has extra protections. I think everybody, the beauty of the American system and of Americanism is that it's universal. It's applied to everybody. It's with respect to individual rights, which everyone possesses. That's what the government is supposed to protect."
Michael on Gullibility: "It seems to me Mark a very big problem, and by the way, I have no idea how to get around this is the gullibility of the people that support this guy."
Mark on Emotional Override: "Their emotions are overriding their reason. I think they feel like for the first time in a long time, they have somebody who's fighting their fight against the real enemy who they perceive to be the left who's had cultural dominance for decades, upon decades."
Mark on Presidential Power: "That is what a capitalist representative Republic looks like, folks. People who are in positions of political power don't want to wield it. They don't want it, but they do it because they understand that we need a system like this in order to thrive as human beings."
Mark on Wanting Office: "Anybody who wants the office, you should be out."
Michael on Government as Problem: "This just comes from people who think that government is the answer to everything in life. Government is not the answer to everything in life. They are the problem."
Referenced Media/Materials
Michael's interview with James Valliant on using reason for self-improvement
Alan Greenspan's essay on antitrust in "Capitalism The Unknown Ideal"
Newsweek report on Trump's dictator comment at Davos
Buster Keaton silent films
Seinfeld (George Costanza reference)
Key Themes
Fourth Amendment protections and administrative warrants
Universal rights regardless of citizenship status
Federal immigration law constitutional questions
Political tribalism and emotional override of reason
Arbitrary government standards in antitrust enforcement
Executive power and authoritarian tendencies
Rule of law versus rule of men
Political will for government reform
Precedent concerns from constitutional violations
Capitalist Thought of the Day
"One of the most important things in a capitalist society is rule of law, not of men. And what we are seeing today is the rule of one man, one man's whim, one man's caprice over the Constitution, over the various branches of government that are meant to balance the executive power. A capitalist society is one that respects the law. It also respects the separation of powers because it understands that no particular branch of power should have power over the other. They check and balance each other's power because in that checks and balances, your freedoms remain intact. And that is the government we want, folks, a government of laws not of men." - Mark