The Strange Triumph of a Broken America: Why Power Abroad Comes With Dysfunction at Home (2-17-25)

Posted on February 17, 2025 by Luke Ford

01:00 Margaret Brennan of CBS News says free speech was weaponized to create the Holocaust
16:00 Michael joins, https://x.com/real_machera
17:00 Michael’s YT channel, https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmblog
22:00 American Primeval, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Primeval
35:00 American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35456246/
46:00 The Morning Meeting S4E31 | Trump’s First 100 Days, Democrat Realignment & Today’s Political News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xja2kEXU9fw
58:00 Why Trump targets AP, https://www.axios.com/2025/02/17/trump-ap-gulf-america-mexico
1:08:30 CBS: What is the unitary executive theory and how might Trump be using it to transform government?
1:16:00 The Strange Triumph of a Broken America: Why Power Abroad Comes With Dysfunction at Home, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/strange-triumph-broken-america-michael-beckley
1:35:00 The Age of Empire Strikes Back: Stephen Kotkin on Trump, Wrestling, and the Use of American Power, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIhwjiJBUz8
1:36:00 Historian Stephen Kotkin, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Kotkin
2:05:00 Rob Henderson on Elon Musk’s babies, monogamy in crisis & JD Vance’s Munich warning, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PltuY3nSIvY
2:12:00 Elon Musk, Ashley St. Clair, and the New Moral Majority, https://www.thefp.com/p/martin-gurri-what-does-it-mean-to
2:21:00 Lindy Li – Obama’s Third Term, Kamala Paying Beyoncé, Cardi B, and Oprah, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHXVeLVHWuY
2:35:00 What does it mean to be a man? https://www.thefp.com/p/martin-gurri-what-does-it-mean-to
2:43:00 Eric Kaufman on the origins of woke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3zN7hjGNKI
https://www.thefp.com/p/jd-vance-picks-fight-with-europe
2:54:20 Video: The biggest mistake MAGA can make is to support the Tate brothers

Posted in America | Comments Off on The Strange Triumph of a Broken America: Why Power Abroad Comes With Dysfunction at Home (2-17-25)

Politico: Trump’s Anti-DEI Edicts Just Scared a Big Sponsor Away From a Major Pride Event (2-16-25)

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Luke Ford

Posted in America | Comments Off on Politico: Trump’s Anti-DEI Edicts Just Scared a Big Sponsor Away From a Major Pride Event (2-16-25)

Trump’s Days Of Thunder (2-16-25)

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Luke Ford

01:00 The Mayor of Kingstown, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_Kingstown
09:50 The Elon Musk Show
14:00 The Premiere League is the world’s most competitive soccer league and it is much more athletic and intense than it used to be
28:00 The Age of Empire Strikes Back: Stephen Kotkin on Trump, Wrestling, and the Use of American Power, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIhwjiJBUz8
30:00 Dooovid joins to discuss multi-culturalism vs racial identity
49:00 Trump’s Gaza plan
1:03:10 Kip joins to discuss his birthday on Valentine’s Day
1:04:20 The fall of England & Australia
1:08:00 The American work ethic
1:20:00 Treat Your Own Knee by Robin McKenzie, https://www.amazon.com/Treat-Your-Own-Knee-838/dp/0987650483/
1:26:00 Jewish vs goyisha suffering perspectives
1:29:00 Underearners Anonymous, https://www.underearnersanonymous.org/newcomers-to-underearners-anonymous/symptoms-of-underearning/
1:33:00 Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness By Frederic Luskin, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=133590
2:06:00 John Mearsheimer Feb. 12 said Trump wasn’t settling the Ukraine war
2:08:00 Feb. 13, Mearsheimer changes his analysis of Trump settling the Ukraine war, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8G9I1ZdEGU
2:18:30 After Pete Hegseth’s speech Feb. 12, Mearsheimer completed changed his analysis on the war in Ukraine, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5-L5pyXLZQ
2:29:00 The ideological straitjacket strangling real talk
2:38:00 WP: Trump’s global funding freeze leaves anti-terror programs in limbo, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/16/trump-funding-freeze-terrorism-africa/
2:40:00 Politico: Trump’s Anti-DEI Edicts Just Scared a Big Sponsor Away From a Major Pride Event, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/02/14/booz-allen-worldpride-sponsor-00204059
2:55:00 Shawn Ryan: Lindy Li – Obama’s Third Term, Kamala Paying Beyoncé, Cardi B, and Oprah, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHXVeLVHWuY
3:01:00 The pundit’s privilege, https://thecritic.co.uk/the-commentators-privilege/
3:06:30 Politico: Dems concede Republicans ‘running circles’ around them online as Trump remakes Washington, https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/16/democrats-losing-trump-doge-information-battle-00204522
3:19:00 A mystery novel in defense of Barry Manilow, https://www.amazon.com/Misdemeanor-Man-Novel-Dylan-Schaffer/dp/1582344604

Posted in America | Comments Off on Trump’s Days Of Thunder (2-16-25)

Ashley St. Clair Says Elon Musk Is The Father Of Her Second Out Of Wedlock Child (2-15-25)

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Luke Ford

01:00 How’s your personal level of fulfillment these days? Are you getting all the sex, power and money and meaning that you need? Are you not entertained?
04:00 NYP: Elon Musk breaks silence after conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair claims she gave birth to his 13th child, https://nypost.com/2025/02/15/us-news/conservative-influencer-has-been-working-privately-on-how-to-co-parent-child-with-elon-musk-rep-says/
07:00 NYP: Ashley St. Clair, influencer who claims to have had Musk’s 13th child, reveals life of secrecy after whirlwind romance with ‘down to earth’ billionaire, https://nypost.com/2025/02/15/us-news/ashley-st-clair-who-claims-to-have-had-musks-13th-child-reveals-life-of-secrecy/
25:30 Babylon Bee
31:00 JD Vance’s AI Speech, Techno-Optimists vs Doomers, Tariffs, AI Court Cases with Naval Ravikant, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI5qI6ej-yM
46:30 A tale of two vice-presidents: Kamala Harris vs JD Vance
51:00 Real world applications for AI, https://www.simplilearn.com/tutorials/artificial-intelligence-tutorial/artificial-intelligence-applications
57:50 AI boosts productivity
59:00 Job loss and job creation due to AI
59:50 The fastest way to get a job right now is to understand AI
1:03:00 Why Is This Region So Good At Basketball, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihufABKHQUQ
1:12:30 Why Serbians Are So Good At Basketball, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbx4DxZCFFI

Posted in America | Comments Off on Ashley St. Clair Says Elon Musk Is The Father Of Her Second Out Of Wedlock Child (2-15-25)

The Final Scene Of ‘The Apprentice’ Translated Into Australian Slang

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Luke Ford

Grok: I got three rules, mate. Right? They’re me three rules for crackin’ a win. Rule one: the world’s a bloody shambles, yeah? The world’s a shambles, Tony. Ya gotta fight back, fair crack of the whip. Ya gotta have a thick skin, mate. Attack, attack, attack. If some drongo comes at ya with a shiv, ya belt ’em back with a bloody big bazooka, yeah? Rule two: what’s the truth, Tony? What’s the truth? Ya know what’s the truth? What ya reckon is the truth, what I reckon is the truth, what he reckons is the truth. What’s the truth in life, ay? Deny the lot, admit bugger all. Ya know what’s dinky-di? What I say’s dinky-di. And third of all, most important, no matter how stuffed ya are, ya never, ever, ever chuck in the towel. Ya always claim ya won. Always, mate.

Posted in Australia, Donald Trump | Comments Off on The Final Scene Of ‘The Apprentice’ Translated Into Australian Slang

President Trump – unburdened by what has been (2-13-25)

Posted on February 13, 2025 by Luke Ford

01:00 If Fox News moves to the center, the audience will go somewhere else
05:50 Jesse Waters
13:00 WSJ: Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Landman’ Hits Pay Dirt With Its Oilman Hero: The Paramount+ drama conveys the modern necessity of fossil fuels like nothing else on TV.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/landman-hits-pay-dirt-with-its-oilman-hero-industry-oil-gas-energy-tv-5f01aeab?mod=hp_opin_pos_5#cxrecs_s
24:00 Kip joins
29:00 The danger of goals
1:06:00 The world’s greatest motivational speaker, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=153558
1:14:00 The Father Factor, The Mother Factor, The Ex Factor, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=47525
1:24:00 The Father Factor: Coming To Terms With Your Dad’s Emotional Legacy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_dnjQR2NMc
1:37:10 2WAY TONIGHT 2/13 | Mark Halperin on Trump’s First 100 Days, Democrats & Today’s Political News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHSGzS9cfg4

Posted in America | Comments Off on President Trump – unburdened by what has been (2-13-25)

Are We In A Constitutional Crisis? (2-13-25)

Posted on February 13, 2025 by Luke Ford

01:00 Joe Biden getting out of Afghanistan was the right move, even though it was chaotic
02:00 DOGE is chaotic, but I hope it is doing more good than harm
03:00 WP: Musk team kicks off federal layoffs as White House eyes big cuts, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/12/musk-trump-federal-layoffs/
05:45 2WAY TONIGHT 2/12 | Mark Halperin on Trump’s First 100 Days, Democrats & Today’s Political News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDsdfdTZuEs
09:00 War in Ukraine is over, https://www.wsj.com/world/trump-writes-a-new-playbook-for-quagmires-in-gaza-and-ukraine-378b29c3?mod=hp_lead_pos1
11:00 Processing pain is very different from analyzing pain, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=158909
21:00 The Morning Meeting S4E29 | Trump’s First 100 Days, Democrat Realignment & Today’s Political News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR8_id6rgHg
22:00 India PM Mohdi comes on bended knee
24:30 Trump’s key nominees approved by US Senate
34:00 There’s no constitutional crisis, https://www.wsj.com/opinion/is-there-a-constitutional-crisis-donald-trump-executive-actions-elon-musk-judges-courts-a5b774ba?mod=trending_now_opn_1
44:30 FT: Europe reels after Donald Trump announces US-Russia talks on Ukraine, https://www.ft.com/content/f7271853-48a0-4865-ac23-0cc4d87c9fb3
45:30 FT: South Africa has been blindsided by Donald Trump, https://www.ft.com/content/ef60e887-09d6-499e-88cc-4c020e555010
55:00 Constitutional Dictatorship: Its Dangers and Its Design, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=130386
59:00 NYT: There’s a Reason Even ‘Smart’ People Surrender to Trump, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/opinion/trump-authoritarianism-surrender.html
1:08:00 No foreign leaders appear to threaten Trump now
1:11:30 Israel’s opportunity to take out Hezbollah on Oct. 11, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPEPztvsJGQ
1:17:30 Dooovid joins to talk about the Jewish reaction to Donald Trump
1:38:00 UK Jewish community reacts to Trump’s Gaza plan, https://www.thejc.com/news/usa/jewish-community-responds-trump-gaza-plan-e9jjfbw0
1:39:00 US Jewish groups respond to Trump’s Gaza comments, https://forward.com/fast-forward/694186/us-jewish-groups-respond-to-trumps-gaza-comments/
1:42:00 Resentment
1:45:00 Decoding Mike Benz (8-18-24), https://rumble.com/v6kbikv-are-we-in-a-constitutional-crisis-2-13-25.html
2:00:00 Luke & Dooovid exchange their assessment of the others’ greatest delusion
2:02:00 The power of mentorship
2:06:30 Holding Onto Ourselves in Relationships, Part Seven, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVs5pnah830
2:15:00 Why didn’t Israel wipe out Hezbollah on Oct. 11, 2023?
2:32:00 Which foreign leaders have Trump by the balls?
2:35:00 Democrats are in dire shape
2:44:00 Anora – Oscar frontrunner
2:48:00 Clinton Rossiter lecturing at UCLA 1964, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTXcLAA2eRo
2:50:00 Political scientist Clinton Rossiter, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinton_Rossiter
2:59:00 Unimagined Power: The Presidency in the History of Political Philosophy | Paul Gottfried, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys6adtS5Ez8
3:05:30 JD Vance plays the long game, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/opinion/jd-vance-donald-trump.html
3:09:00 NYT: There’s a Reason Even ‘Smart’ People Surrender to Trump
3:20:00 We are living in Trump’s America
3:33:00 Great Japanese TV show – Asura, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asura_(TV_series)
3:45:00 Alexander Technique lesson with Diana Devitt-Dawson, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXqIuvav5hY

Posted in America | Comments Off on Are We In A Constitutional Crisis? (2-13-25)

Learning To Forgive For Good (2-12-25)

Posted on February 12, 2025 by Luke Ford

01:00 NYT: Vance Is Laying the Groundwork, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/opinion/jd-vance-donald-trump.html
04:30 Jesse Waters
08:00 My initial step four experience in 2012, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=47372
24:00 Elliott Blatt joins the show to discuss a resentment
32:00 Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness By Frederic Luskin, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=133590
52:00 The problem (Adult Children of Alcoholics), https://adultchildren.org/literature/problem/
58:00 Al Anon questionaire, https://adultchildren.org/literature/problem/
1:08:00 My step one journey from 2012, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=44793
1:11:00 My step two journey from 2012, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=44798
1:14:40 Forgiveness Workshop | Dr. Fred Luskin, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ5o6DsCa90
1:19:45 The Alexander Technique and Addiction Recovery, https://alexanderaudio.com/applications/addiction/
1:22:00 Alexander Technique lesson, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXqIuvav5hY
1:25:00 Alexander Technique teacher Robert Rickover, https://www.bodylearningblog.com/about-robert/
1:42:00 The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body and Design by Galen Cranz, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U47uK4opHeg

Posted in America | Comments Off on Learning To Forgive For Good (2-12-25)

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

Posted in America | Comments Off on Donald Trump & Constitutional Dictatorship (2-12-25)

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.”

Posted in Carl Schmitt | Comments Off on Trump’s State Of Exception