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Fiat justitia ruat caelum

				
				
				

				

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				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I disagree that that is how the law should work.  For example, the Rittenhouse case should never have been brought to trial.  Prosecutors generally do not bring cases to trial that they know they will lose.  This case is likely one they would lose.  Therefore, the incentive is against drawing this out in a court of law.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Point me to the law that says people who act in self defense must be tried in a court of law to prove their innocence.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I think you will like his proposal for the House: https://decivitate.jamesjheaney.com/p/expand-the-house-you-cowards


The Senate is not the House.  The House should be extreme Democracy in action.  The Senate is the cooling rods.  You need both or you get Tyranny.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
This is true, with the important caveat that the Republican party he supported 13+ years ago is gone and dead.  He's not a Democrat, but it is unlikely the Republicans will ever field candidates he likes either.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
What we have every election under the current status quo is 45 hardcore Republicans, 45 hardcore Democrats, and 10 people who more often than not are anti-democrat but not necessarily pro-Republican (but vote for Republican causes more often than not.)  Republicans have a major bias in the Senate anyways.  Would it not be better for those Republicans to be moderate and willing to pass laws from a Democratic House?


Because another proposal he has would blow up the house to 1000+ people who are also more representative of the people at large and much less gerymandering.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
He calls Trump "Mr. Trump" and calls him the "de-facto president" because he believes Trump is illegitimate. On another post he writes, "When all is said and done, I’ll have spent 12 years in the political wilderness… " indicating he doesn't see himself aligned to the Republicans for 12 years now.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Well, for one, he does not prefer the Republicans to the Democrats and has not for a while now.


He is trying to make less polarized candidates, not candidates of a specific brand.  Surely 30 Republican-leaning centrist and 20 Democrat-leaning centrist Senators would be better than what we have now?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
We have to balance how much we hate Iran with the risk that China or Russia push back against us going after their preferred Middle Eastern country.  And it is better for the Iranians if they have their own Revolution, not just an American putting a new Dictator in place for them.


With that in mind, I fully believe the Iranians can have a revolution if they don't starve first.  The only thing the Americans should do is try to get the protestors food and water on a humanitarian mission.  Given how hostile Iran is, doing even this without attacking Iran would be a feat in itself.  But it seems like the moral option if we want to help out.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Meanwhile, we have others saying, legally speaking, there is no way the ICE agent is on the hook for murder based on previous case law.


https://shipwreckedcrew.substack.com/p/minneapolis-is-not-even-a-close-call


The ICE officer walked away when he was filled to the brim with adrenaline.  That doesn't mean he was un-injured and didn't need to convalesce at the hospital.  We have him getting hit by the car un-ambiguously on two videos.  And even if he wasn't hit by a car, he was in the clear, if he is being judged by the same standard other police have been judged by (see above link.)


Edit: I'm not happy Good was killed, but the agent has the benefit of the doubt until they are proven guilty in a court, and given the facts established it seems unlikely that the agent deserves to be found proven guilty.  Ultimately, none of this would have happened if Good hadn't been using her vehicle to obstruct government officials enforcing the law, so I understand why the sentiment is to blame Good.  But it is entirely possible for there to be no bad guys here and someone still wind up dead.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
And now for something completely different.


Ever feel like democracy's got you down?  Ever read enough of Plato's Republic (or listened to people who claim they have ready Plato's Republic) to realize that Democracy always leads to a Tyranny?  Afraid that you might be in a Tyranny right now?


You may be entitled to... course correcting your constitution via the process the founders prepared for us!  Seriously, the US has gone a freakishly long time since our last amendment.  It seems like the process is broken somewhere.  Maybe a lot of somewhere.


But when many people propose a constitutional amendment they run into the trap of trying to enshrine their political cause of the day into the constitution, which is never going to work.  What we need are structural adjustments that do not favor either side but rather incentivize more deliberative, rational, non-polarized decision making.  And what better way to do it than updating the Senate!.


The Senate was never meant to be Democratic.  It was meant to be the mirror to the House of Lords in it's day, just not hereditary.  It was meant to check, correct, and slow down the work of the more populist House. The Senate was meant to be filled with the wisest and best of each State who serve the public interest without being beholden to popular opinion.


Originally each U.S. senator was elected directly by the legislature of their home state. This changed because state elections started to become proxies for Senate elections, so we passed the 17th amendment and now they are elected separately (though with how common it is to vote all of one party on a ballot, the effect of this change is minimal.)


This turned the US Senate from the original deliberative body to a highly polarized mess that is just like the US House but less representative.  It solved one problem, but failed us in many ways.


What if we returned to the spirit of the 17th, with some tweaks to prevent the State Senate elections from turning into proxies for the US Senate again?


DeCivitate (who was featured in ACX a while ago) has been proposing some Constitutional Amendments that try to address the more structural issues with the government, without falling into the trap of "What can I enshrine in the Constitution that makes my side win forever?"


For the Senate, he has proposed a few possibilities:


First, no matter what, let's reduce the number of US Senators down to qty 1 per State.  100 is too many to have a close group of people deliberating together.


Second, let's change the way Senators are selected.  Let's require that a senator needs to be a member of their State Senate (defined as  the least numerous branch of the state legislature thereof, being composed of at least ten members, and whose concurrence is necessary for any act of the state legislature to become law. so no gaming that!)


From there, we have a couple options:


    

  1. 

    Use a FORTRAN algorithm that determines based on past votes who are the most moderate members of the State Senate and then allows the State Senate to pick from them. Plus: almost impossible to game.  Minus: Requires putting a specific computer algorithm into the US Constitution, which might be a plus to some people but might also come with its own vulnerabilities.
    

    2. 

  2. 

    Have the Senate vote based on a Condorcet method plus a group veto power to help steer a more normal-looking nomination practice into a moderate candidate.
    

    3. 



The articles for each algorithm are worth reading, as each shows a strong consideration for all the nuances for each method and a focus on understanding why we got to this point and avoiding the pitfalls that steered us towards where we are now.


The goal is to have Senators who are serious people who solve problems instead of clapping back on social media.  The goal is to have a Senate comprised of people representative of the median of each State, opposed to partisans of the majority party in each state.  I think people of both major parties plus people of the minor parties would prefer this to what we have going on now. So... Let's have a Constitutional Convention!


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Or he had to scratch his nose.  The number of Sherlocks in this week's roundup is astonishing.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Normal police officers do cover their faces when dealing with the crap ICE is dealing with.  They also drive unmarked vehicles when needed.  Federal law enforcement officials do not have a requirement to personally identify themselves.


All you have delineated is that ICE does not act like a beat cop who is not expecting trouble.  Yeah, obviously.  But when the police go in expecting trouble, they act a lot like the ICE we see on videos where trouble has happened.  And ICE's mission is to round up people who have ignored final orders for removal and/or have illegally entered our country.  Do you object to the existence of parole officers and bail enforcement agents?


There are also lots of arrests ICE is making that are not shared to social media that go smoothly, everyone is pleasant, no force is used, and all looks a lot more like your beat cop example.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I am related to an above average number of police officers and security personnel and ICE agents have not earned that "don't behave anything like normal police officers" comment.  They seem normal to me.  You are going to have to be more specific in your derision.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yes, that is true, but the innocence of the ICE agent does not hinge on any of those details.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Honestly the driver looks at the ICE agent for a millisecond.  I don't think she registered the ICE agent was in her path.  She is a bad driver and sometimes bad driving kills someone, but I don't think this video proves that she was gunning for the agent.


That said, the thing that keeps getting missed in this discussion is that Good is dead.  She's not on trial here.  Her mens rea doesn't matter, except for the normal human response to tragedy is to speculate, "That could never happen to me, I would never do the thing which lead to that."


Legally speaking and physically speaking, it is entirely possible for Good to have normal intentions and still pose a serious and immanent threat to the ICE agent.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
It would probably be best to do several iterations of a mock election using this method before actually putting it in an amendment.  I would be curious to see how it goes.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
There are huge bottlenecks for the Federal Government w/r/t deportation.  It takes years to get the final order of removal for everyone.  If they want to achieve their goal of reducing illegal immigration, they need to try to create strong disincentives for illegal immigration outside the normal process.


So they set up ways to soften the blow of self-deporting.  Just use an app, we'll set up a flight anywhere you want to go and give you cash.


And if you don't self-deport, here is the consequence.  Swift arrest without being able to settle your affairs.


An estimated 1.9 million people self-deported this year, with or without the app.  Far more people are leaving on their own than are being removed by ICE.


More importantly, this signals to others not to make the attempt.  Even when the US goes back under control of the Dems, there will always be this hesitancy for an entire generation of people.  "Do I really want to go to the US, set up a life, just to risk the Americans electing another Trump and losing everything I built?"  Now it seems possible in a way it didn't before.


ICE will never deport a tenth as many people as it can disincentivize from staying.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That is the proper, traditional Riot.  What is muddying it is the conflation of "riots" where a group of people go to a protest looking for trouble ahead of time, armed and armored.  Jan 6 seems like a traditional riot.  BLM and Anti-ICE protests have been something else, but called a protest/riot for some reason.


Edit: Kids these days, can't even riot properly! SMH.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


I think the key maneuver he's relying on here is the secret ballot nomination,




I think the key maneuver is actually the veto ability combined with the Condorcet method.  Condorcet by itself selects for moderate candidates.


I do like the idea of limiting candidates to other members of the body that is electing the State's Senator.  I wonder if that was just an oversight to exclude that requirement here.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


can remember videos of 9/11 where people are repeating, without full awareness, "oh my god" again and again. That kind of honest emotional reaction actually still hits me hard because, well, it's coming from somewhere genuine, isn't performative, and uses a vocabulary (religious) that really is mostly reserved - when earnest - for "big" moments. Turning "what the actual fuck" into a kind of emotional war cry cheapened the whole thing from the get go.




I was thinking the same thing, though not as articulately.  I wondered, "What would 18th century Americans say if they were present at a similar event?"  "Oh my God" is a good one.  But the F-bomb becoming as common as "um" has not been a good turn of events.  It feels very unserious.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
But in that case, why do you believe the government when it says "do not resist when police arrest you, if it's all a big mistake you will be released within a couple days at the most?" But then don't apply that same trust to it when it says, "Same applies to ICE?"  It's the same source.  If the problem is federal/local, substitute being arrested by the FBI, would you have the same response to being arrested by the FBI as you do to ICE?


Instead, I have seen a large online campaign to paint ICE as unusual with zero jurisdiction on anything, operating under no rules, with no training.  When really, they get the normal amount of training (ICE agents train at FLETC for about 3–5 months, then complete on-the-job probation before being considered field-ready, which is a comparable amount to the FBI.)  They have jurisdiction to arrest people, even American citizens, over crimes committed in their presence.  And the people they arrest can only be held for so long before a judge approves the detainment.  And the people they send out of the country all have final orders of removal from an immigration judge.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Oh sorry I linked to the wrong article, here is Two Amendments on the Senate, where he tries to fix up his amendment so that it does not rely on FORTRAN at least: https://decivitate.jamesjheaney.com/p/two-amendments-on-the-senate @stuckinbathroom so you see it.


Maybe I will write a top level post so everyone sees it.  Not really culture war in itself but maybe I can find an angle to give it a personal spin.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
A Senate, If You Can Keep It  and Two Amendments on the Senate would be a good read for you if you have not seen it yet.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
This kind of misinformation will get more people killed.




Q: Aren’t people in ICE custody routinely “disappeared”?

 No. Like most (not all) law enforcement agencies in the modern era, ICE has a detainee registry and an online portal where you can search for them. They have a website listing their locations and describing visiting hours, lawyer hours, and ways to send gifts to detainees.

 Also, of course, unlike most prisoners, people detained for immigration violations usually have the option to leave, in fairly short order, by accepting voluntary departure to their home country.




				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thankfully, someone made a helpful FAQ:




Q: Is ICE abducting people?

No. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency. It was established in 2003, but its predecessors date back to the Immigration Act of 1891. Every Congress has voted to fund ICE, every year, since its creation.

As a law enforcement agency, ICE has the authority to detain and arrest people for legitimate law enforcement purposes, if consistent with the Fourth Amendment.






Q: Wait, is entering the country illegally a crime? I thought it was just a civil offense, like a traffic ticket.

Illegal entry into the United States is a federal offense under 8 USC 1325, carrying a maximum prison sentence of up to six months on the first offense (higher on subsequent offenses). That makes it a Class B misdemeanor (18 USC 3559), which means it is alternatively punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 plus an additional civil penalty of up to $250. That’s quite a bit more than my worst traffic ticket.

ICE frequently declines to prosecute suspects under this statute, because it is a criminal charge that requires a jury trial, proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and all the bells and whistles. It’s much easier (and cheaper) to just send them home. Basically, ICE is willing to pretend a foreigner ended up in America by some elaborate and hilarious mistake (“Whoopsie! Musta takin’ a wrong turn at Albuquerque!”), because ICE thinks it’s better to just send people home instead of punishing them plus sending them home.

That last part seems to be where people get the idea that it’s all just a civil offense. ICE frequently shuts its eyes to the criminal offense because it’s too much of a bother. Illegal entry is a civil offense only as an act of mercy.

Even then, the U.S. prosecutes this crime tens of thousands of times every year.

(That said, worth noting: overstaying a visa is not a crime. However, ICE can still remove anyone who overstays a visa from the country.)






Q: Wow. Oof. Alright. What happens once someone is in removal proceedings?

In a removal proceeding, the individual is brought, “without unnecessary delay,” before a federal official called an “immigration judge” (not a real judge) whose job is to hear ICE’s evidence, the suspect’s defense, and issue a ruling. ICE can arrest and initiate removal proceedings with relatively little evidence (probable cause), but, by this hearing stage, ICE must show proof (clear and convincing evidence) that the individual is not legally present in the United States.

If this federal official agrees with ICE, he issues an order of removal. The suspect may appeal this decision until it gets to a real judge, and can potentially go all the way to the Supreme Court. Once appeals are exhausted, the order becomes final and ICE may return the individual to his nation of citizenship, or to another nation that agrees to take him.






Q: Can ICE arrest anyone else?

Congress has granted ICE broad authority to arrest people, including citizens, if ICE has probable cause to believe they have committed other crimes, especially crimes committed in the presence of ICE officers. (8 USC 1357(5))

This is not an unusual power. Many law enforcement agencies can arrest someone, even without a warrant, especially when that person commits a crime in their presence. Of course, they still have to make a probable-cause showing to a judge within a couple of days, at most. This creates a ton of drama in police procedurals: “I know you think he’ll kill again, Higgins, but if you can’t convince a judge he’s the murderer in the next sixteen hours, the chief says we have to cut him loose!”

When ICE arrests a person for a non-immigration crime, those rules apply. They must have probable cause at the arrest. They must show that cause to a judge to continue holding that person for more than a very short while. They must find another law enforcement agency willing to deal with it and turn the person over to them, because ICE is only equipped to prosecute immigration violations. The accused must be convicted by a jury of her peers with proof beyond a reasonable doubt in order to be punished.




There is a ton of misinformation going around right now - that ICE has no real authority, that they can't touch a US Citizen, etc etc.  It's all lies, and these lies possibly contributed to this woman's death.  People are acting reckless with ICE because they don't think ICE can react the same way police can.  They can and will.