Luke Ford

Donald Trump & Constitutional Dictatorship (2-12-25)

Posted on February 12, 2025 by Luke Ford

01:00 Trump’s State Of Exception, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=158897
03:00 Carl Schmitt quotes: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/162542.Carl_Schmitt#
05:00 Will the USA take over Canada?, https://statesofexception.substack.com/p/what-ir-theory-tells-us-about-canada
23:00 The Morning Meeting S4E28 | Trump’s First 100 Days, Democrat Realignment & Today’s Political News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6ssgxybIpc
32:00 John Podhoretz & Commentary magazine crew on Trump, the Democrats and the courts, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DUbhQiZnxg
38:00 Constitutional Dictatorship: Its Dangers and Its Design, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=130386
58:00 Lindy Li – Obama’s Third Term, Kamala Paying Beyoncé, Cardi B, and Oprah, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHXVeLVHWuY

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Trump’s State Of Exception

Posted on February 12, 2025 by Luke Ford

The government took away many rights during Covid by invoking a state of emergency, and now Trump & Elon are implicitly stating that America is in a state of emergency, and that the executive has to grab the rudder to save the ship.

I was listening to a liberal Constitutional law expert Steve Vladeck yesterday state that Trump’s Executive Order (EO) banning migrants from seven majority Muslim nations in his first term would not have passed Supreme Court muster if they had not already ruled out his first two EOs on this.

It’s similar to playing aggressive defense and daring the refs to call a penalty on every play.

I don’t think America has ever seen anything like this second Trump administration and their number of EOs. Trump is making Reagan look like a softie.

Trump musing about taking over Canada, Greenland, Panama Canal, Gaza, I don’t know how to think about this state of exception except with Carl Schmitt.

“The exception is more interesting than the rule. The rule proves nothing; the exception proves everything. In the exception the power of real life breaks through the crust of a mechanism that has become torpid by repetition.” ― Carl Schmitt, Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty

A philosopher friend says: “Schmitt focused on discretionary power but he also venerated the state and its use of it. Trump seems to be pushing the limits of using it, but to constrain the officials who had been using it. what people usually mean by mentioning Schmitt is the friend-enemy distinction. This is more often used by people like AOC and virtue signalers more generally: When you turn a political dispute into a moral one you are defining the other as an enemy in Schmitt’s sense. And the real influence of Schmitt has been underground, mostly via the Frankfurt School and then through feminism, with the notion that everything is political — so Marcuse made liberal notions of tolerance political and repressive, and the same kind of inversion occurs all the time with feminism, where equality becomes a male concept if it is not defined in a way that liberates women in relation to men.”

“There is an emergency about the deficit. But if the courts are consistent at all, the fact that Obama was allowed to fail to enforce immigration law via prosecutorial discretion justified by budget considerations would seem to be the sufficient precedent. But [Chief Justice John] Roberts will find a way to protect the status quo, because he is a status quo guy. I’m telling people to look at Clinton Rossiter, who thought through all this stuff in American terms. [His book] American Presidency shows how weak the countervailing powers are. Carl Schmitt’s Dictatorship is worth a read too. Long but nice history. You are on the right track here.”

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Decoding Donald Trump’s State Of Emergency (2-11-25)

Posted on February 11, 2025 by Luke Ford

01:00 Constitutional Dictatorship: Its Dangers and Its Design, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=130386
02:00 Just imagine what Trump will do if we get into a true state of emergency!
14:00 POLITICO: Voters Were Right About the Economy. The Data Was Wrong.
22:00 Are we in the midst of a Constitutional Crisis?, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCsX441k0cM
40:00 S2E5, Lioness TV show, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lioness_(American_TV_series)
45:45 Why does Trump have so much power? Because he has repeatedly done the impossible, he commands the base, he shows the only path forward for republicans.
47:00 FT: Donald Trump to halt enforcement of law banning bribery of foreign officials
55:20 Jesse Waters
1:16:00 Who Elected Elon Musk?, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOzQSasw24I
1:20:00 Wrinkles and the Alexander Technique, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=41077
1:23:00 The dark side of fitness, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=39704
1:27:00 My Aching Jaw: Alexander Technique And TMJ, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=36113
1:28:00 Alexander Technique and TMJ, https://alexanderaudio.com/applications/tmj/index.html
1:31:00 Alexander Technique on the TV show Girls
1:36:00 Improve Your Sports Performance With Alexander Technique, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=35614

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Decoding The Super Bowl (2-10-25)

Posted on February 10, 2025 by Luke Ford

01:00 The NFL is humiliated by a terrible Super Bowl
02:00 The Kansas Chiefs only got to the Super Bowl by the NFL rigging the refereeing
07:00 Commentary magazine podcast crew on the Super Bowl, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAjy7iObB08
15:00 Democratic party leaders have bad optics
27:00 NYT: Trump’s Actions Have Created a Constitutional Crisis, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/us/politics/trump-constitutional-crisis.html
37:30 Mark Halperin on Trump’s First 100 Days, Democrats & Today’s Political News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBG4sIOAoqk
52:00 Steve Bannon asks Rabbi Pesach Wolicki to respond to Tucker Carlson, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7FQUuQRu78
1:15:30 Elliott Blatt predicted the Eagles victory in the Super Bowl
1:16:30 Elliott is skeptical about the AI boom
1:28:00 Elliott is still enjoying the Trump boom
1:33:00 Do you call hookers sex workers or escorts or hos?
1:35:00 Hookers should not be allowed to discriminate against black men
1:45:20 Jesse Waters

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Decoding Peter Thiel (2-9-25)

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Luke Ford

01:00 What makes Stephen Miller successful with Donald Trump
16:30 My 3am AI nightmare
25:00 “Ties bind and blind.” I am triply inclined not to criticize Ben Shapiro because I share his outlook, his sacred values, his Orthodox Judaism, and many of his friends.
28:00 60 Minutes did nothing wrong in its Kamala Harris interview edit
37:00 Hoover: Apocalypse Now? Peter Thiel on Ancient Prophecies and Modern Tech, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqHueZNEzig
48:00 Peter Thiel: The Techno-Apocalypse is Nigh, https://decoding-the-gurus.captivate.fm/episode/peter-thiel-the-techno-apocalypse-is-nigh
1:12:30 Can a barking dog be racist?
1:23:00 The Eagles are bigger, stronger, faster and more talented than the Chiefs, but Kansas City has a better coach
1:45:00 Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos, https://www.amazon.com/Ungoverning-Attack-Administrative-State-Politics/dp/0691250529
2:19:00 Andrew Gelman: “Florida man eats diet of butter, cheese, beef; cholesterol oozes from his body”: How much am I to blame for this?, https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/02/06/florida-man-eats-diet-of-butter-cheese-beef-cholesterol-oozes-from-his-body/
2:27:00 Andrew Gelman: What do I think of this Bayesian analysis of the origins of covid?, https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/02/03/bayesian-analysis-of-origins-of-covid/
2:29:30 Andrew Gelman: Dan Ariely: “Why Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is a broken moral compass”, https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/01/22/ariely-why-louisianas-ten-commandments-law-is-a-broken-moral-compass/
2:33:30 Andrew Gelman: The “delay-the-reckoning heuristic” in pro football?, https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/01/20/the-delay-the-reckoning-heuristic-in-pro-football/
2:38:00 My disdain for RFK Jr and Trump’s health picks
2:45:00 My character flaws of lying and cheating
2:49:30 Virtue Signalling Is Virtuous, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=146676
2:54:00 Decoding Decoding The Gurus, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=144554
4:15:30 The rise of the far-right
4:11:00 The Great American Bank Robbery: The Unauthorized Report About What Really Caused the Great Recession by Paul Sperry

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Super Bowl Preview

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Luke Ford

The Eagles are stronger and faster and more skilled than the Chiefs. The Eagles offensive line outweighs its Chiefs counterparts by 40 pounds on average. According to Grok, the Eagles are also faster. The only way the Chiefs win is if Andy Reid outcoaches Nick Sirianni.
Grok:

Player Speed: The Eagles are often noted for having players with exceptional speed, particularly at the wide receiver positions with players like A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. On the Chiefs’ side, while their wide receiver corps might not be as universally recognized for speed, they have players like Xavier Worthy who has added significant speed to the team. Posts on X suggest that the Eagles might have an edge in overall team speed, with comments like “Philly are faster overall” and “Eagles are fast the field conditions favor speed.”
Game Strategy: Speed can also relate to how teams play. The Eagles under Nick Sirianni have shown a philosophy of using speed in their offensive plays, especially with their running game led by Saquon Barkley. Conversely, the Chiefs, while known for a dynamic passing attack led by Patrick Mahomes, might not emphasize speed in the same way across all positions but focus more on precision and adaptability.
Field Conditions: The condition of the playing field can affect how speed plays out in a game. An indoor game like the Super Bowl at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans removes variables like weather, potentially favoring teams that can utilize speed more effectively. Some opinions on X indicate that the Eagles might benefit more from these conditions.
Historical Performance: In their last regular season meeting, which was on November 20, 2023, where the Eagles won 21-17 against the Chiefs, speed wasn’t the decisive factor, but the Eagles’ ability to control the game pace was notable.

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Decoding Doge (2-8-25)

Posted on February 8, 2025 by Luke Ford

04:00 All In Podcast: DOGE vs USAID, Crypto Framework, Google’s $75B AI Spend, US Sovereign Wealth Fund, GLP-1s, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3q5TrwSek0
10:00 WP: Elon Musk’s ultimate goal becomes clear
Shrink government, control data and — according to one official closely watching the billionaire’s DOGE — replace “the human workforce with machines.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/08/doge-musk-goals/
22:00 Elon Musk’s strategy, https://www.stevesailer.net/p/elon-musks-strategy-of-purge-and
29:50 Mark Halperin talks to Commentary magazine podcast crew about the second Trump administration, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ths5cov8EA
55:00 Gidley on “Racist” Elon Musk Aide: “The Guy Made a Mistake. He Doesn’t Deserve To Be Killed for It”
1:01:20 JD Vance on “Racist” Elon Musk Aide: “We’re Not Going To Fire Somebody Because of Some Old Tweets”
1:02:50 Why does YT push the pro Islamic terro network Al Jazeera (funded by Qatar, which also funds Hamas) but bans Russia Today?
1:15:00 Explaining Trump’s Middle East policy, https://thehill.com/opinion/international/5130444-what-trump-actually-wants-in-the-middle-east/
1:12 1:30 Contra David Brooks, Donald Trump is not stupid
1:41:00 Emilia Pérez & The New Gaza, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7icy5LJVZXE
1:43:00 Is it a big shock that a trans woman does not adore Islam?
1:48:30 The DOGE Boys Take DC, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzh_G8JEyd0
1:54:00 Why Trump is Uniquely Positioned to “Fight, Fight, Fight” on Cultural Issues, with Andrew Klavan, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K6irMABta0
1:58:00 NYP: Inside Trump’s hectic day-to-day schedule – with prez revealing the phrase that keeps going through his mind when he first wakes up, https://nypost.com/2025/02/08/us-news/inside-trumps-hectic-day-to-day-schedule-as-prez-begins-to-transform-federal-government/
2:09:20 Mick Cronin fixed UCLA | How ripping his team changed their season, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IwzITE3nJE

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01:00 NYT: ‘Trump’s Thomas Cromwell’ Is Waiting in the Wings, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/opinion/trump-vought-omb-government.html
10:00 Jesse Waters
42:00 Mark Halperin on Trump’s executive orders, https://www.smerconish.com/podcasts/the-smerconish-podcast/
55:00 RCP: Is Trump’s Plan for Gaza “America First?”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1lPAiAKb90
58:45 TRUMP & THE FUTURE OF GAZA – with Rich Goldberg, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc3p2NKGfvU
1:05:40 The mental health crisis on the left, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kGlC49vnLA
1:20:40 Common Sense and the Liberals, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJhtWunA29k

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Donald Trump & Constitutional Dictatorship (2-12-25)

Trump’s State Of Exception

Decoding Donald Trump’s State Of Emergency (2-11-25)

Decoding The Super Bowl (2-10-25)

Decoding Peter Thiel (2-9-25)

Super Bowl Preview

Decoding Doge (2-8-25)

Laura Loomer Saw This Coming (2-7-25)

Don’t Use Religion As A Spade (2-7-25)

Senate Confirms ‘Trump’s Thomas Cromwell’ (2-6-25)