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Fiat justitia ruat caelum

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Fiat justitia ruat caelum

				
				
				

				

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					joined 2022 September 05 01:56:25 UTC
				


				
					

					
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				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 2, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I was going off of: https://tryingtruly.substack.com/p/how-generous-tit-for-tat-wins-at-life


Rule 1 - Be nice (technically meaning always co-operate on the first round).

Rule 2 - From then on just copy what the other player did in the previous round (meaning an eye for an eye and a hug for a hug).

Rule 3 - After you retaliate, always try to co-operate again in the next round. 



This is for turn-based rounds.  Simultaneous rounds “win-stay, lose-shift" wins.  Does our electoral system more closely match turn-based or simultaneous?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 2, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Democratic leadership is not doing too well in the truth department either.  Walsh said ICE is not law enforcement. for instance.




But detaining someone on the suspicion of them being an illegal immigrant seems to be a-ok only if the arestee is not a citizen.




No, looks like you feel for misinformation as well.  Unless by a-ok you mean some value judgement outside the law.  Congress explicitly gave ICE the power (without warrant) "to interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien as to his right to be or to remain in the United States;" (8 USC 1357) (emphasis mine)


We have a very recent Supreme Court case (Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo) that helps us understand both what ICE's operating parameters are and that they are within the bounds of law.  Someone can be detained by ICE on reasonable suspicion that they are violating immigration law or is involved with a violation of U.S. immigration law by another person.  If there is reasonable suspicion, ICE is allowed to stop someone, ask them for ID, if they do not have ID on their person then ask for identifying details like name and address, and run them through a database to try to narrow down their immigration status.


For an example of reasonable suspicion, there was an incident where someone (let's call him Bob) saw another person with an ignored final removal order being arrested by ICE.   Bob fled in another direction.  Fleeing from officers creates reasonable suspicion!  Perhaps that is what Bob intended.  The ICE officers left the person they were there for and chased after him.  He was arrested, refused to answer questions, and was taken into custody so that his identity could be determined.  Bob is a US citizen, but taking him into custody seems reasonable and A-ok to me!


ICE’s policy is that no one can be lawfully taken into custody, or even questioned, on the basis of skin color. Ethnicity is never on it's own a sufficient basis for probable cause, or even reasonable suspicion.  However, several factors when taken together can create reasonable suspicion:


    

  • 

    the types of job they worked (people unlawfully present disproportionately work in certain kinds of jobs)
    

    • 

  • 

    presence at particular locations (people unlawfully present are disproportionately found at certain places, like car washes and construction sites)
    

    • 

  • 

    language and accent (people unlawfully present disproportionately speak languages other than English, or speak English with a heavy accent)
    

    • 

  • 

    apparent race or ethnicity.
    

    • 



The Supreme Court agreed with ICE on this assessment that in combination (though not in isolation) these factors can create reasonable basis for a Terry Stop.


Refusing to cooperate with a Terry Stop, refusing to roll down your window, show ID, get out of the vehicle when asked, etc, are all things that will get you arrested, whether it is ICE or your local beat cop who's trying to talk with you.


It's normal to see the underclass act badly when stopped by the police.  What's been weird is seeing middle-aged PMC respond to reasonable police requests like someone caught driving on a weed binge.  The only reason they are acting like that is because they've been told it's right and just to act like that.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 2, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
The best solution to an iterative prisoners dilemma was to alternate Tit-for-tat with cooperation, regardless of what the opponents strategy is.  MN ICE is perhaps a suitable tat for Biden's tit of purposefully bringing in millions of immigrants.  But it has to have a limit and then Conservatives need to try cooperation.


Edit: Blue hairs grew up and are now acting like insurrection Karens with law enforcement.  Sorry if it's not the right descriptor, but I think you understood what I meant anyways.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 2, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


all these things have a savor of savage and hasty simplification, which may, in many individuals, correspond to an honest indignation or even idealism, but which, when taken altogether, give an uncomfortable impression of wild men who have merely grown weary of the complexity that we call civilization."




Honestly, this resonated with me in the sense that a lot of left-leaning people I've talked with are OK with:


    

  • Rioting and disturbing the peace
    • 

  • Lying about the law to make people believe that ICE is breaking it (specifically that ICE needs to show random people warrants, ICE cannot arrest a US Citizen, ICE cannot detain an immigrant while their immigration case is being processed.)
    • 

  • Saying that if the law might be popular but only because people do not understand it and also Democracy can be morally wrong sometimes and so those who know better need to act outside the law.
    • 

  • If the law is bad then the option is not to change it because changing it will take too long and people are being Abducted Now!
    • 

  • Saying anarchism is looking appealing.
    • 



Meanwhile, someone on the left could make their own list of what right-leaning people are doing:


    

  • Enforcing the law in a reckless manner
    • 

  • Lying about the law to make themselves look better (in the case of Pretti and bringing a gun to a protest.)
    • 

  • Trying to remove Birthright citizenship out of fear that the electorate will not prefer their policies if Birthright citizenship continues.
    • 

  • Saying we're in a cold Civil War.
    • 



I think our nation is broken and I'm sad about it.  I do not know how to restore a sense of common brotherhood between the blue haired Karen and the MAGA HVAC repair guy.  If we're lucky we'll get attacked from the outside and band together against a common threat.  If we're unlucky I think we'll just struggle against each other until one group loses all hope of pretense to power.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of February 2, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
But in this scenario there are homeowners who are losers here - people with houses that are in the bottom 10% of price due to location and size.  Their home "values" increased over the last decade, but they are unable to leverage that money towards liquid cash as easily.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I guess everyone in Minnesota who is in a category the State will refuse to protect should just leave Minnesota.


I don't know what other remedies our system has.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Disrupting a church service is not exactly terrorism, since there was no actual violence used.




I think the FBI affidavit is important to review before going into the discussion.


First, the "protestors" were blocking people in, keeping them from leaving or from getting to their children who had been taking to another area for childcare.




Victim 4 noted after the protest began, approximately fifty members of the congregation were stuck towards the front of the church. Victim 4 informed agents the aisles are already narrow to begin with, and the agitators who occupied the center of the sanctuary made it nearly impossible for parishioners to get out and leave.






Victim 4 informed agents that members of their parish attempted to retrieve their children from the childcare area located downstairs, but the agitators were blocking the stairs, and the parents were unable to get to their children. Victim 4 recalled one agitator was threatening, aggressive, and intimidating towards parishioners. Additionally, this agitator was screaming and getting in people's faces, to include women and young children. This agitator continued to scream in the faces of young children while they were crying.




Just, you know, some light "preventing parents from caring for their small children."  Really, could happen to any honest protestor.


One of the church goers fled out a side door, tripped, and broke her arm.  Is that the fault of the protestors?  Kinda, if they hadn't scared her she wouldn't have ran so quickly.




Victim 6 was scared the agitators were not going to let people leave and that they were going to harm victim 1's family for harboring victim 1. Victim 6  later stated protesters followed and surrounded them in their car and would not let them leave.




Again with the not letting people leave thing.  What elements need to be present for this to be kidnapping?  Or endangering children?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Before all the new information.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Personally speaking, I'd love to see the eight paragraph long essay on my brother's type. :D


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
And it might not have been the Sig.  I remember in the Rittenhouse case, it turns out that he didn't even fire the first shot.  Someone else walking by on a nearby sidewalk fired a gun right when Rittenhouse was running away from the first guy who was trying to kill him.  It's not impossible something else like that happened here.  With Rittenhouse, we were lucky so much was caught on video.  In this case, with the scene so contaminated, we might never know.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
More than that, there were screenshots going around with a citation to a law, but it actually was for Illinois, not Minnesota.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
At the time of the solo beginning shot (which itself is weird, they seem to shoot in threes), I cannot for the life of me see who's shooting.  The guy who got his gun out isn't really angled in a good way to shoot at Pretti.  The Uncommanded discharge theory just seems to fill in a lot of gaps.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I thought he looked back, towards Pretti, but also towards where the proposed shot would have gone.  Would you be more likely to look at the gun or the direction it shot?  I think a case could be made for either.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Well, damn. I fell prey to misinformation.  11 states forbid it, but not Minnesota.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
In  the next line I said the opposite of "failure to control this reflex should be an instant kill shot."  But there are plenty of people who are arrested for resisting arrest in basically this way, even if they weren't being charged with any other crime besides resisting arrest.  I don't really agree with this, but it happens and people should be aware of what is expected of them if they're in that situation.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I saw a video where it visibly jumped in the guy's hand, but who knows if it was doctored.  I think the rest of the description still works, just hearing someone say, "GUN!" in the loud chaotic environment could be enough to make some jumpy exhausted people shoot, even if the true statement was, "I grabbed his gun!"


After the shooting they were all looking around asking, "Where is the gun!  Where is the gun!" so they clearly thought the gun was in play at the time.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
My brother posted some weird screed on Facebook about how handsome Pretti was compared to the ICE agent who shot him, how healthy Pretti looked, how educated Pretti was compared to the typical ICE agent.  Basically implying it was dysgenic to shoot Pretti, except I think eugenics is still considered a no-no.  I seriously tried to puzzle out if my brother was in the closet despite having a string of serious girlfriends.


I think it was bad to shoot Pretti.  I also think Pretti did some stupid things and earned a stupid prize, and that was apparent even before this video came out.


For the, "Pretti is not a hero" argument:


He went to a protest while armed, which is apparently illegal in Minnesota.  He wasn't wearing a comfortable weapon that would be typically worn in for a conceal carry.  It was a several thousand dollar handgun that had several accessories making it bulky and likely uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time.  It's highly unlikely he just forgot that the gun was on him at the time.


If someone is conceal carrying and gets any kind of attention from a law enforcement officer, that person needs to keep their hands visible, clearly state, "I have a conceal carry permit, gun is on my (left/right)," and do exactly what the police officers say.  Pretti had a right to self defense.  So do LEOs.  And they will exercise their right to self defense very quickly and broadly if they feel threatened.


Pretti did not act like someone should when conceal carrying in the presence of LEOs.  He joined in a fracas.  He shoved someone, then wiggled around while being held down by CBP.  Now, the wiggling around is basically a human reflex, but it is one that must be suppressed if you find yourself in the position of being arrested.


On the flip side, no one should be shot for exhibiting a normal human reflex.  Typically that does not happen in most arrests.  My understanding of the situation, from the perspective of the CBP, is:


They were there to arrest a bad guy.  A bunch of screaming people started getting in their way, blowing whistles in their faces.  Again.  They are trying to arrest their third bad guy of the day, after working 10 days in a row.  Somehow, having to arrest child rapists isn't the worst part of their jobs.  They haven't slept well for over a week, because these screaming whistle people are also banging pots and pans together all night outside every hotel they've tried to retreat to.


One of the screaming whistle women gets too close, pings some sort of danger radar, one of the CBP agents pepper spray her.  Guess it's arrest time.  Try to arrest her, a screaming whistle man comes and tries to push you off her.  He just signed up to get arrested for assaulting an officer.  He tries to fight you off, it takes four of you to try to hold him down.


One of your buddies sees a holstered gun.  He reaches in, grabs it and says, "I've got his gun."


Unfortunately, you are still surrounded by the damned whistle people.  You don't hear all that sentence.  You heard the word "gun" because your ears are highly invested in hearing the word "gun."  But the rest of it is drowned out by the drone of invectives being thrown your way.


The detainee's gun goes off in the agents hands.  One of the infamous Uncommanded Discharges from a Sig.  The bullet hits the ground next to an agent's foot.  This created an imminent sense they were in deadly danger.  There was a gun, they were being shot at.  They shot the detainee.


Now, the dumb part is they shot the detainee while he was being detained by four of their own people.  They were holding his hands.  He wasn't facing them.  He could not have possibly been the source of the shot.  And shooting him risked the lives of the people trying to restrain him.  This was a really bad shoot.


Legally, I don't know if they should be charged with murder, manslaughter, or just placed on leave and given a desk job.  I think Pretti's family has standing to sue for a good amount of money.  It was a bad shoot.  And Pretty played stupid games and won a fatal prize.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for January 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I am a Centrist.  Which is kind of surprising to me because everywhere but here makes me feel like the I'm some weird far right fascist.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
No, it is not readily answered by the linked article.  What did the guy do before the guards attacked him?


In the US, I could imagine a similar one-sided story getting told.  Left out would be the detail of what happened immediately before: the prisoner attacking another prisoner with a shank, an attempted rape, or just giving the guard a funny look.  Not going to say it's always a justified reason.  But things happen from causes.  What happened before is always an important dimension.


I am also very struck that the Biden administration held him for six months while investigating his asylum claims.  The Biden administration CBP, "just looked at [him] and told [him he] was a danger to society."  The reporter takes at face value that he's never had a traffic ticket and this means he never did wrong in his life.  But again, things tend to have causes.  It seems unlikely to me that these awful things just keep being inflicted by several different authorities to a totally innocent person.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I am skeptical of the value of anything that starts with an appeal to authority, but then it's clear that the entity writing the piece does not have the claimed credentials.


Maybe the person posting really is a former Special Forces Warrant Officer, but the words did not originate from a former Special Forces Warrant Officer's brain, they came from a computer without any of that experience and at most a former Special Forces Warrant Officer signed off on them.  The post starts off with an appeal to the author's unique experience, but that person with a unique experience did not generate the thoughts, a computer generated the thoughts.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Pleasantly surprised by the upvote count. I suspect that the people going into the volunteer mod queue are selected for some quality that might not merit the volunteer mod queue.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Think of the five year olds! It is a nice emotional appeal, but what does it actually mean?


My take on children who are not legally present is that they will either have a illegally present parent or their parents are in another country.  It is a pretty weird edge case for one to have a legally present parent but somehow be illegally present themselves.  If that is the case, then I 100% would prefer they become naturalized themselves over deportation.


If their parents are in another country, they were effectively kidnapped.  They should be recovered and sent back to their parents.


If their parents are not legally present and have a final order of removal, then the child should also be deported with their parent.  The fate of staying in the US and going into the foster system is not superior to keeping the child with their parents.


If the child was sent to stay with legally present relatives by their parents in another country, I still think it's better to send them back to their parents.  How do we know that both parents consented to this?  Otherwise we have to investigate a lot of domestic situations in other countries, which each might have their own custody laws, it's simpler and more ethical to send them back to their parents.


Ideally we would have a lot more family detention centers that look more like kindergartens than Alcatraz.  We need a place to put kids and their guardians in a monitored and controlled way while we determine if they are even related to the people bringing them over the border.  That would be my ideal.  But deporting fewer five year olds seems like an odd goal when actually thought through.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
The atheist who says, "I don’t believe your religion is true, but according to your religion you should act this way," is usually cherry picking from one or two single aspects of the religion while ignoring all other concerns.  A religion is a whole worldview, with many different factors held in tension.  Justice AND Mercy, Freedom AND Obedience, Prudence AND Compassion.


Same with conservatism.  There are many different principles that make up a conservative worldview, and trying to mount a logical argument while only considering one of them will not come across as intelligent.  Arguing from a position someone actually holds will create a more convincing argument.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Whistleblowers claim they were retaliated against, see here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=yyqdZT3J4qY


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			

	


			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of January 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Yes, I wonder how this was resolved in the South when federal law forbade segregation.